Two Souls, One Heart
by EmberFalcon
Summary: Kind of a Kingom Hearts crossover, but not really. Things are heating up as the final battle with Naraku approaches, but a new threat arises...strange creatures born of absolute darkness. What are they, and what is their goal?
1. Chapter 1

Okay, while I was writing my last fan fic, this popped into my head. The events and main ideas are taken from Kingdom Hearts, as well as some of the lines and plot, though none of the game's characters will show up at all, but if you want that kind of crossover from me, let me know, okay? I'm all open for story ideas! Here's my latest fic, "Two Souls, One Heart."

Disclaimer: I do not own the song "Simple and Clean," Kingdom Hearts, Inuyasha, or any related characters. They are all owned by their respectful peoples.

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_I've been…having these weird thoughts lately…_

…_like, is any of this for real…? Or not…?_

Falling…he was falling, falling into a foggy emptiness that was completely foreign to the hanyou. No…he wasn't falling, nor floating, just…sort of…there. Molten amber eyes revealed themselves from behind heavy eyelids, sweeping over the vast nothingness. What was going on…how did he get here? Where was _here_, exactly? On either side of his line of vision were two long, flowing blood red sleeves that seemed to swim gracefully in a nonexistent air. He saw silver wisps of hair twist and swirl around beside the sleeves, seemingly reaching out to touch the light that he was slipping away from.

Only one thing clouded the teenage hanyou's mind…_her_. Where was she? Was she alright? Oh, Kami-sama, he hoped that she was alright.

_Hey…_

That voice…so angelic…it was…_her_ voice. Where was it coming from? He looked to either side of him, but all that welcomed his searching eyes was a vast emptiness.

…_wake up…wake up…_

"Come on, wake up."

The hanyou boy opened his eyes slowly, blinking once, twice, squinting against the midday sun that beat down on the earth relentlessly. He absentmindedly clutched his fists, his claws tearing grass from its proper place on the ground to be clenched in his fists. Hold on a minute…grass…solid ground…

He looked down past his red fire rat haori clad chest to see a beautiful shimmering lake, its surface gleaming temptingly, as if urging him to come into the water. His dog ears, perched atop his head, swiveled up to greet the sound of the waves gently kissing the edge of the dirt that surrounded it. He sat up to better observe his surroundings a moment, before a loud and audible yawn escaped his lips, reminding him of how tired he had been from spending the last three days fighting demons, among other things, and not getting a wink of sleep. He leaned back on his hands, about to ease himself onto the ground, before his bright amber orbs met a beautiful face of ivory cream colored skin, shimmering ebony hair that blew down to seemingly reach out to him, hazel eyes glinting brilliantly, observing him. He was, at first, startled, but knew who it was nonetheless. She was the reason that he was at this clearing; he was waiting for her to return.

"Oi, Kagome…" He turned to sit on his knees so that he could look at her better. Her frame was hovering over his, her hand on her knees. She giggled girlishly, her head tilting up to watch him better as he sat, her eyes never leaving his face. She stood up fully, arching her back slightly to wake it from bending for so long.

"Inuyasha, you lazy bum. I knew that I'd find you moping around here." He waved his hands in front of him innocently.

"No, this huge…black THING swallowed me up! I couldn't breathe, I couldn't-OW!" She playfully clocked him in the head to stop his blabbering.

"Are you still dreaming?" She said playfully, but they both knew that she believed him, no matter how bizarre that the dream seemed to her.

"It wasn't a dream! Or…was it…?" Was it simply a dream…nothing more? It had seemed so real…so real…

"I dunno. What was that place…? So bizarre…" He whispered, mainly to himself. Kagome intertwined her hands behind her, stepping past the boy to let her feet welcome the waves of the lake.

"Sure…okay then, Inuyasha." He turned her way, sitting back on his rear while he brought one knee up to rest his arm on.

"Say, Kagome…what was your hometown like? You know, where you were born?" She smiled at his innocent question, though her heart tore slightly at the thought.

"I've told you before, I don't remember." He cocked his head to the side a moment at her response, which hadn't changed since the first time he asked her.

"Nothing at all…?" He pressed her, though she shook her head, flicking away a lock of her hair that was teasing the front of her face.

"Nothing." He knew he'd feel stupid for asking this next one, given that she didn't even remember where she came from.

"Do you ever want to go back?" She tilted her head to the right slightly in thought before answering, still keeping her back to him.

"Well…I'm happy here, in both times." He almost failed to suppress a snort.

"Really…"

"But you know…" She looked up at the sun, smiling brightly at the thought of actually seeing the place that she entered this world from.

"…I wouldn't mind going to see it." His ears drooped at the sadness that lined her voice, so he tried his best to cheer her up.

"I'd like to see it, too." She turned towards him, her warm smile softening even more. He loved it when she smiled. It was like all the troubles of the world disappeared, if only for a moment, when her lips were curved toward the heavens. In his eyes, she _was_ from heaven. A special goddess that the gods had sent to earth, just for him, though he knew he wouldn't be admitting that for a while longer. His confession, however, would come soon enough. That much he knew.

"You know…you've changed." Kagome said as they watched the sunset on the docks of the stream. He didn't take his eyes off the sunset, but he could already imagine the dreamy, thoughtful look that was sketched lightly over Kagome's face.

"What makes you say that?" He asked in a husky voice, scooting closer to her.

"Well…hmm…" She paused in thought, though both of them knew just how much he had changed without her saying anything. He turned his head to look at her.

"You okay?" His husky voice remained, and he did nothing to change it. She suddenly widened her eyes.

"Inuyasha, let's go somewhere, just the two of us!"

"Huh?" She laughed happily at his flabbergasted response.

"Just kidding." She joked light heartedly. He laughed with her a bit.

"What's gotten into you?" He sobered a bit, though his smile never quite left his face.

"You're the one that's changed, Kagome." Her eyes grew wistful, dreamy. It was times like these where the hanyou wanted nothing more than to immerse himself in her beautiful eyes and let himself drown in their warmth.

"Maybe…" She whispered in a far off voice.

"You know…I was a little afraid of this upcoming battle with Naraku at first. But, now I'm ready!" She smiled at him, and he returned the smile.

"No matter where I go or, what I see, or what happens, I know I can always come back here…" She turned her head back to him, gazing into his amber eyes, which were transfixed upon the sun once again.

"…right?" He looked at her again.

"Yeah, 'course!"

"That's good…" She looked down at her lap again.

"Inuyasha…don't ever change."

"Huh?" He blushed slightly as she stood.

"I just can't wait…once we win the fight…it'll be great."

Little did they know, that this would be their last night together for quite some time, for they hadn't noticed the shadows shift and disappear, to return to their master again.

Inuyasha bade Kagome goodnight as he walked out of the hut that she was sleeping in with Kaede, whom was an aged priestess from the Sengoku Jidai, and Sango, a taijia from the same time period as he and Kaede. How he had wanted to stay beside her; something was growing in the pit of his stomach. A feeling…a feeling like something was going to happen that would tear them all apart, and he wanted to be as close to her as possible. He had, however, dismissed the thought. That was the hut that the girls were to sleep in, and his presence would make it very uncomfortable, though they knew he would never do anything. So, he walked out of the hut to bid Miroku and Shippo, a houshi-sama and a fox kitsune youkai, goodnight as well.

"If anyone needs me, I'll be in the Goshinboku. Night, Miroku, Shippo. Oh, and Miroku- if I hear that you were being a hentai again, you'll meet my fists, understand?"

"Perish the thought, Inuyasha-kun. I wouldn't even dream of it." He laughed nervously, but bade the hanyou goodnight as well. Inuyasha looked down at a little fire cat youkai, a two-tail cat demon named Kirara.

"Watch over the hut, alright, Kirara?" The little youkai 'mewed' a response and trotted over to the entrance of the hut that the girls were asleep in.

Inuyasha walked over to the Goshinboku, jumping atop one of its lower branches to rest for the night. Though he tried to close his eyes, Kagome's words seemed to play and replay themselves from when they watched the sunset.

"_Inuyasha…don't ever change…"_ It had meant the world to him when she had said that. Had his confidence in himself not left him at that moment, he would have embraced her, told her everything, everything that he felt and desired, everything that he had been dreaming of for the longest time. All of that, however, had required courage, and it had left him before he could open his mouth to reply.

"_I just can't wait…once we win the fight…it'll be great."_ He looked up at the stars, finding comfort in her words just enough to rest his tired amber eyes…

…until he looked back in the direction of the hut.

Above the village, a huge cloud of darkness was forming, electric white pulses flashed through the area as the black of darkness swarmed over the village.

He leaped off of the tree. This was no ordinary storm- it was only concentrated on one area of this entire domain, nowhere else. It was too suspicious for him _not_ to check it out…_only above Kaede's village…only above Kaede's village…_the thought flowed his every thought as he broke into a fast sprint towards the village. _Only above Kaede's village…only above Kaede's village…_

And what bothered him most about that darkness was that Kagome was right underneath it all.

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YAY! I did it! Stick around for the next chappie, k? Oh, and about mentioning "Simple and Clean" in the disclaimer, it'll show up in the next chappie- I feel like mixing it up a little bit!


	2. Disappearance

This chapter is going to be a songfic to "Simple and Clean," as promised, though I'm choosing to sort of twist the events of Kingdom Hearts up a little, though it basically won't alter the story. The Heartless will be in here, but any other characters will not appear (but again, if you want me to write something like that, I'm all ears for any suggestion on stories that anyone might have!). Here's chapter 2!

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"What in the hell is that?" Inuyasha looked up at the sky momentarily, seeing a red sphere begin to materialize in the sky, hellish glowing flames and darkness intertwining with themselves as the orb seemed to grow rapidly. His attention turned to the village, to which he had just reached. He sped off toward Kaede's hut, almost numb to the villagers that all crowded around to look at the growing dark sphere in the sky mumbling amongst themselves about what sort of demon that could have possibly done this to their village. Though he had wondered this himself, he was much too worried about his friends to care at the moment. He continued to push through the thick crowd of villagers to advance towards Kaede's hut, sniffing frantically for his companions' scents in the cluster of villagers' own scents.

"KAGOME! KAGOMEWHERE ARE YOU? **KAGOME!**" He called out over the roar of the fierce wind that was picking up. The wind continued to lash out wildly, catching his hair and sleeves, causing them to flail around wildly as he raced towards his destination.

Upon reaching the hut, his golden amber orbs filled with fear at the sight before him. It looked like his friends had put up a fight, and a fierce one at that. The hut had large gashes in the wood, ones so deep that they could have been done only by a demon, the bamboo curtain that served as a door was hardly hanging on by a sliver of the rope it was tied to, billowing freely in the raging wind. The dirt all around the hut was kicked up; deep marks that were cut into the ground lined the earth, as if someone had been dragged away while they tried fighting off their attackers.

Fear and uneasiness knotted his stomach as he rushed into the hut, only to be greeted by Kagome's yellow backpack, torn into shreds, its contents spilled all across the floor as if it were flung off of its owner. _No… don't let it be…don't let it be…_ His mind pleaded frantically as he tried picking up a scent other than that of his friends, perhaps a demonic scent, or a scent that seemed unfamiliar to the hanyou.

There was none.

Now he was puzzled, as well as frightened. Never had he come across any demon that had no scent, or left no trace of a demonic aura in its wake…no…this was not the work of a demon, but if not a demon, then…what?

He raced out of the hut, but skidded to a sudden stop. Something wasn't right here…where did everyone go…? The whole village had turned into a ghost town, not a soul in sight. Where had the crowd of them gone to? He couldn't even pick up any of the scents of the villagers or anything, so he knew that they weren't inside their homes, or anything. What also disturbed him was the wind, which had blown so cold, so fiercely only moments ago, was nonexistent, leaving the air heavy and still. It was dead quiet in the village…

…and he didn't like it when it was quiet...not like this.

His sharp eyes snapped over to the ground as he swore he saw something flash past him on the earth floor. He whipped his head in the opposite direction as he saw another dark figure move ahead of him. He knew that his eyes weren't playing tricks on him; something was definitely up. His right hand snapped to the hilt of the Tetsusaiga, his knees bent and his legs parted shoulder length so that he was in combat stance.

His eyes were pulled to the dirt floor a yard away from his position as at least twelve shadows materialized from the ground, each revealing two tiny glowing yellow dots that he assumed were their eyes. Two jagged antennae fidgeted constantly atop each of their heads as their small bodies, which were about the size of Shippo, began to twitch and dance recklessly. Inuyasha's eyes widened at the realization that he had seen these creatures before, in his nightmare. He refused to let the memory flood back in his mind, as he pulled Tetsusaiga out of its sheath, cocking the great fang in front of him in a striking position. He wasn't about to leave anything to chance with these things…especially if they were as dark and morbid as they were in his nightmare. The creatures seemed unfazed by his offensive position, continuing their strange rhythmic patterns of twitching and shuddering.

Without a warning, they attacked. Though they were weak and small, they were quick, reversing to disappear and reappear to his side or behind him to take a cheap shot or two with their tiny claws. One of the creatures managed to catch Inuyasha in the middle of a mighty swing of his Steel Cleaving Fang, and lashed out at him to dodge the blade, bringing out a clawed, deformed hand and scratched his right cheek. The attack left three tiny claw marks on his right cheek bone, though he remained unaffected by it, he still became irritated with the nuisance. He cracked his knuckles and raised a clawed hand, much bigger and stronger than that of the creature's own.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" Golden tips flew from his claws, slicing through the creature, which evaporated into a dark puff of fog before disappearing.

"I don't have time for the rest of you!" He brought his blade down, striking the earth with such an impact that some of the rock was cracked off of the ground and was lifted to slant towards the blade. The force of the impact caused the other eleven creatures to befall the same fate as the first.

What really bothered Inuyasha was not the fact of what they looked like, but what they _were_. He picked up _no_ demonic aura, nor any type of scent…it was as if each creature was hardly even existing, its body the only proof of its being. They seemed to be remains of something; and empty shell of something that once was…but the question still remained- _what were they?_

He picked up a single scent…a slightly weak scent, but he knew it all too well. Vanilla and Rose pedals…a scent that he couldn't get enough of…

"KAGOME, I'M COMING! JUST HANG ON!" He called out as he backtracked to the Goshinboku, the direction of her scent.

_You're giving me too many things lately,_

_You're all I need._

_You smiled at me, and said…_

He almost swore his feet left the ground as he broke into a mad dash to the sacred tree. The forest blurred to almost one wave of a deep green hue, one flash, one instant before he quickly found himself tracing the path to the sacred tree once again. He stopped at the edge of the clearing around the said tree, seeing her face it, her back to him. The wind had not picked up, and the entire clearing seemed to be deathly silent.

He was worried, to say the very least. Her scent, usually powerful alluring, soothing him even if he were a raging youkai, was weak, timid, almost nonexistent, even from this distance and with his powerful nose. Was she hurt? Did something happen to her while they were separated? He'd kill the bastard that did something to her, regardless of what it was, demon, human, or otherwise! No one put a hand on his Kagome- no one!

_Don't get me wrong, I love you,_

_But does that mean I have to meet your father?_

_When we are older you'll understand _

_What I meant when I said "no,"_

_I don't think life is quite that simple._

"Kagome!" Though he hadn't truly shouted her name, his voice seemed to echo off of the forest's walls. She slowly turned to face him, her eyes down cast before swooping up painfully to meet his. He cringed as his amber eyes bore into her hazel ones. Her beautiful brown eyes, so full of life, full of spark, emotions, passion, kindness…were now smoky…clouded over in pain and anguish. The expression of pain and torture were not fitting of her beautiful features, it contrasted who she was in every way the hanyou could think of at that moment.

"Inu…yasha…" Her voice was strained, as if there were some invisible force draining her energy away from her. He stepped toward her, worry and concern deeply etched in his features. She fully faced him, stumbling a bit as she did, struggling to stand. Her eyes searched him longingly, painfully as she ever so slowly reached out to him.

_When you walk away,_

_You don't hear me say,_

_Please, oh baby don't go,_

_Simple and Clean is the way that you're making me feel tonight._

_It's hard to let it go._

A sudden darkness threw her forward, sweeping her off of her feet and straight toward Inuyasha. He reached his arms out, catching her in his embrace as she felt her face gently land on a warm, toned chest, two powerful arms enveloping her, holding her tightly yet lovingly. He knelt to the floor, cradling her in his arms. More of those dark creatures appeared around them, circling them slowly. He only held her closer to himself, whispering comforting words into her ear. He was too worried about Kagome to leave her to fight the nuisance away.

_Hold me,_

_Whatever lies beyond this morning_

_Is a little later on._

_Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all._

_Nothing's like before._

The shadows, rather that attack them, merged into the ground, slithering underneath the couple, temporarily disappearing. A pool of darkness suddenly began to form underneath them, vines of blackness creeping up Inuyasha's knees. Rather than continue to creep up his body, the wisps of darkness branched out from his bent legs to wrap themselves around Kagome's weak, struggling frame, as if they were trying to pry the two apart. "No! Get away from her, bastards!" He shouted fruitlessly at the coils of darkness latching themselves onto his Kagome's body, wrapping around her, consuming her in darkness. He wouldn't let the darkness have its way with her; she was too pure to be treated like that. He pulled her closer to him, feeling the darkness pull back, trying to drag her into the portal of emptiness beneath them.

"I-Inu…yasha…d-don't…don't go…" She whispered in between desperate gasps to maintain consciousness. Inuyasha simply held her closer, letting her head rest on his left shoulder while his arms tightened around her frame. _'No, don't take her from me! Kami-sama, don't do this to me!"_ The darkness was spreading up to her neck, reaching their tips to her jaw line. There was nothing he could do…he couldn't protect her…he couldn't protect her…

_Hold me,_

_Whatever lies be_y_ond this morning_

_Is a little later on._

_Regardless of warnings, the future doesn't scare me at all._

_Nothing's like before._

"No…don't give up. Dammit don't you give up on me!" He shouted as the darkness began to pull her down into its black base below him. He refused to let her go, so in return the darkness dragged him down as well. He could feel his heart quickly giving into the darkness's will as Kagome's frame faded into the black, the wisps of darkness quickly widening into a wave that surrounded her body, pushing his away as she disappeared. He felt her body leave his as he clutched the darkness in a vain attempt to hold her again.

_Should we take the boy as well?_

His eyes scanned around him frantically. Who said that? There was no definite voice, but the words were clearly there, not in a text…just sort of…existed. He couldn't even tell if the voice belonged to a male or female, human or demon…

_No, we shall make them both suffer._

He growled at that voice, another voice, one he knew all too well; Naraku. He couldn't explain how he knew…but there was something about that voice, that being that made him certain that it was the evil hanyou.

_Inuyasha! Please help me! INUYASHA! _

KAGOME! She was in trouble! But, where was she? Oh gods, where was she? His hands searched frantically around for her, trying to find what his eyes couldn't.

_Hurry, Miroku! We're losing him!_

_I'm almost there…I just need to reach him…if I can get that far, he'll be alright…_

Sango and Miroku…? They were trying to free him? No, he wasn't leaving! Not without Kagome! She was in danger! She needed him!

_Inuyasha…Inu…ya…sha…_

_KAGOME! KAGOME NO! SANGO, MIROKU, DAMMIT FORGET ABOUT ME! JUST SAVE KAGOME!_

His world began to faded away as he faintly heard Miroku say in a tired, exasperated voice,

_I did it…he's going to be okay._

Something hit the back of his head as he was jerked upward, into a blindingly white light, and he knew no more.

_No…Miroku…save Kagome…Kagome…_

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Like I said- just the main idea and story line is taken from the game. I just changed everything else! I'm also doing a sequel, you know, like Kingdom Hearts 2, only with Inuyasha characters, done in the same sort of way- same general idea, different events in the story, similar conclusion. See ya around!


	3. Invisible Ties

I'm back everyone! Technically, everyone includes one person, and to that one person, I thank you. As a matter of fact, I did finish KH2, but do you know how to get the bonus movie? I've been trying, but I just don't know what needs to get done. Ah well, here's chapter 3! (Oh and just a little side note: No new characters except for a few bad guys and some random heroes that the Inutachi meet.)

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Sango looked over at the unconscious hanyou lying on a futon on the opposite side of the hut. Miroku was currently talking to Kaede about what had befallen Inuyasha and Kagome, unsure of it all himself. When the taijia asked him about it, he told her that he had sensed an unbelievable level of darkness emit from the black portal that he had pulled Inuyasha out of with some of his holy powers. The darkness was so intense, he had said, that it drained nearly all of his powers just to save the hanyou. He had tried saving Kagome as well, but it required more power than he had the capability to tap into. The aged priestess sighed sadly, removing the dry cloth from Inuyasha's forehead to submerse it in a bucket of water beside the futon.

"I fear for the both of them very much…" She wrung out the cloth before replacing it on the hanyou's forehead. Kaede looked at his sleeping form a moment, collecting her thoughts before turning back to the houshi-sama and the taijia. Sango cleared her throat, gathering up the courage to ask the question that she feared the answer to.

"Will they be alright?" Though the taijia was strong willed, she surprised herself when her voice came out a harsh whisper. The priestess closed her eyes and bowed her head solemnly. Her arms linked together behind her back while she began to pace in thought.

"It is difficult to say. Both the heart of Inuyasha and the heart of Kagome have linked, become connected with each other." She stopped her pacing to look at the hanyou again as he cringed slightly, panting and gasping for air. Beads of sweat ran down his head, despite the wet cloth on his forehead. Even in her old age, Kaede had to turn her head respectfully away from the hanyou's bare, sweating chest with extreme modesty.

"Their hearts are highly unstable when they cannot be near each other, without knowing where the other is." Inuyasha's fists clenched unconsciously, his head turned to his left a little bit of the way, his cringe seeming to darken.

"Kagome's heart is no longer with Inuyasha's, though their strong ties are still connected, their invisible bond still existent, her heart is weakening from wherever she has been taken…" She sat down and motioned for the two to follow suit. They did as she had silently requested, sitting opposite her.

"…and that, in turn, is weakening Inuyasha's heart as well. Though both hearts will remain strong so long as they never forget their feelings toward each other…" She sighed sadly as her head bowed low once again.

"…I fear that Kagome's life, as well as her heart, is in grave danger." Miroku was about to open his mouth to say something, but he sensed Inuyasha's youki (demonic aura) sharpen as his head jerked to the right in his feverish sleep. The three of them watched with curiosity as Inuyasha appeared to be having some sort of nightmare due to the fever…

_He was walking…walking nowhere in particular, just through Inuyasha Forest, as he had always done. The wind picked up as he stopped, carrying another scent with its gentle breezes…her scent…_

_"Kagome!" He broke into a sprint toward Goshinboku. She turned to him, smiling warmly, calling out his name. He slowed his run to a light jog until he stopped mere inches away from her. He felt his lips tug upward…kami-sama how her smile was contagious! She looked like she was about to say something, but her smile faded as she caught sight of something falling in the sky above them. He turned and followed her gaze to see what looked like a silhouette of someone's limp body, a mere shadow against the setting sun, falling toward the earth. He blinked at the falling figure for a moment, but his heart almost gave a lurch when he realized that…that falling figure…was him._

_He blinked as he felt something stab through his heart. Nothing physically, but it was like someone was crushing his heart, shattering it like the fragile glass that it was. He could only reach out to Kagome in a futile attempt to stop himself from falling as he began to fall backwards. He expected the ground to rush up to meet him, but it melted away into a black abyss that opened up to him with a cold vengeance. Kagome watched with a horrified expression as he faded away. Within an eye blink, the darkness rippled over him, blocking her from his view. He was falling helplessly into the vast emptiness, and there was no one, nothing that could save him now._

_Thousands…maybe even millions of tiny yellow orbs surrounded him, watching him, analyzing him. He continued to fall, not knowing what to do about those glinting yellow eyes. Tiny bodies revealed themselves behind the yellow orbs, their frames only about as big as Shippo's, maybe a little bigger. His irises contracted as he felt a sharp pain in his back. His arm shook fiercely as he tried moving his right arm to the Tetsusaiga, but it felt like something was stopping it from moving. He then realized to his horror…_

…_he couldn't move._

_Tetsusaiga rattled and quivered beside him wildly inside its sheath, as if demanding it be released from its scabbard. 'Tetsusaiga…?' He thought as the creatures of darkness swam over him like a wave of emptiness. He felt the air leave his lungs as he tried to lash out at the darkness, but he remained paralyzed. Darkness covered his eyes and he knew nothing more._

"Kagome…" He mumbled, his cringe darkening just before he slowly regained consciousness. Honey-amber eyes slowly revealed themselves as they swept over the area of the hut, stopping to focus on the three other occupants of the space.

"…where is she…?" He cringed as he sat back on his elbows, shutting one eye in an attempt to block out the pain coursing through his body. It wasn't true pain, more like a numbing state that he couldn't bring his body out of.

"Where's Kagome…is she…alright…?" He said in a low voice, thick with pain. The three others looked at each other sadly, refusing to meet eyes with the hanyou. No more words were needed to be said. He knew then what had happened. Miroku had saved him, but let Kagome fall into an eternal darkness.

He pounded his fist into the wall beside him, splintering the wood slightly. It should have been the other way around. _He_ should be the one falling in an everlasting darkness, _she_ should be the one laying here, wondering where _he_ was and if _he _was alright.

This was wrong. This was all so wrong.

"So…you saved me…but in exchange, Kagome's…" He couldn't finish the thought. He didn't need to.

"Inuyasha-sama…I'm so sorry…I tried…"

"I know." He wasn't angry at Miroku; he knew that the houshi had tried to rescue both of them. He had just been the one that hadn't been entirely consumed by darkness, so he was saved first. When Miroku had tried another spiritual venture to save Kagome, his holy power had almost been diminished, and so…

"If you hadn't told me to save Kagome, I wouldn't have even known that she was there, too." He paused for a moment…so…Miroku had heard him calling out to him, telling houshi to forget about saving him and just save Kagome? His eyes were downcast in agony. How could fate do this to him? How could destiny do this to _her_? It was one thing to be pulled into darkness, another to be consumed by it. He was speaking from experience.

"Naraku…he's behind this. I'm sure of it."

"Inuyasha…are ye sure…?"

"I heard his voice back there- don't question my certainty." He growled as he tried his best to get up. It took all he had not to howl in pain as he felt a sharp stabbing in his side. He clutched his right side in pain, wincing as he eased himself into a sitting position. _'Damn…why do I feel so weak?' _He wondered as he swore a colorful array of curse words under his breath.

"Ye must do your best not to move around for at least a day, or else the darkness that is still left inside you will spread." Kaede warned as she placed a small burner with some herbs beside him.

"Breath in these vapors deeply, child; they will ease the pain and dizziness. The dark aura in your body must not go unchecked." Inuyasha growled again, but didn't fight the elderly miko as she forced him to lie down again.

"Damn…how can you people expect me to just lay here when I don't even know where Kagome is? What do you expect of me?" The hanyou demanded, though there was no force in his voice. His eyelids began to feel suddenly heavy, as he breathed the herbal vapors emitting from the tiny clay pot burner (it sounds like I'm describing Kikyo…n.n) that was placed beside his head. _'Damn…what did she put in those herbs? I'm only feeling weaker…she said these were supposed to HELP!'_ Even in his subconscious, it was hard to produce any amount of will to fight, to yell, to even oppose anyone or anything, as his body began to numb itself into sleep.

"Just rest, Inuyasha…we'll find Kagome, don't worry." He faintly heard Sango assure him before the hut melted away and he was left to dream of his Kagome.

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-Pant- -pant- whew! That one took some thinking! –sweat drop- no, seriously, stick around for the next chappie, I'm going to go take a Tylenol, now…


	4. Unknown voice

Konnichiwa buddies, how are you peeps doing? I know this is sort of going by quickly, but I can't help that I have nothing better to do with a stuffy nose and a computer –sniff- anyway, here's chappie 4!

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Dark shadows loomed over the empty village as night approached, the air thick with tension and alertness. A lone glow of light dimly flickered through the window of Kaede's hut, sending long, stretching shadows to dance across the dirt floor outside.

Sango sighed, watching the candle Kaede had lit as its small flame danced and swayed intricately, her eyes glittering from the tiny source of light. Miroku and Kaede had long since retired, sound asleep across the room from her, just outside the candle's circle of light. She, however, had too much to worry about to sleep. Her best friend, almost sister, had been devoured into darkness, and here all her friends were, not knowing if she was alright, or where she was. Not only that, but if what Inuyasha said was true, that Naraku had something to do with this, that must mean Kohaku, her little beloved brother, was also unwillingly pulled into this as well. She clenched her fists in fury at the thought that that bastard was using her innocent, vulnerable brother, who couldn't even remember who his family was or his tragic past, to do such evil deeds as this.

"Lady Sango, please…you must go to sleep at some point tonight." Miroku's tired voice sounded behind her from the shadows. She turned, about to object, but only let a yawn escape her lips. Okay, so maybe she did need a little rest. She crawled over by Miroku, but kept her distance from his mischievous and perverted hand.

"I find that you came any closer to me, you won't be waking up for a week." He laughed huskily, turning his back to her.

"I wouldn't dream of it, my dear Sango, goodnight." The two of them closed their eyes, allowing themselves to slip into a deep slumber.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, was struggling to maintain consciousness.

His eye lids were unbelievably heavy, drooping to cover his molten amber orbs on several occasions, causing him to blink rapidly just to stay awake. Moving his body was out of the question; whenever he tried to so much as twitch one of his hanyou dog ears, a jolt of pain would course through his body until he finally gave up on any attempt on movement. That damn burner with the herbs in it was still burning, much to Inuyasha's frustration. He overheard Kaede tell Miroku that the herbs would lull even the fiercest youkai into a deep sleep. _'So,'_ Inuyasha thought bitterly. _'She really isn't gonna let me look for Kagome until this heals…DAMN OLD HAG!' _

He tried lifting his head slowly, gingerly. There was nothing…no damn herbs, no darkness in his body…NOTHING that was going to stop him from finding Kagome. Though he refused to admit it to anyone, not even her, he couldn't live without her. She was his koshii (love, beloved, sweetheart, etc), no two ways about it. His shoulders and chest racked and shook with pain as he tried lifting himself to a sitting position. If he got that far, he concluded, he could make it the rest of the way. He managed to lift his head and shoulders about two inches before his shoulders gave one last shudder and crashed against the futon as his body strength left him for the hundredth time that night. _'Like I said before- DAMN…OLD…HAG!' _

A deep growl crawled up his throat, and despite the darkness, his pearly white fangs shown somewhat noticeably in the dark. How could they do this to him? They all know enough that he can't stand being without her, so how do they expect him to fuc-

"Aah-!" His eyes snapped open widely, his pupils contracting three times as small as their normal size. He involuntarily clutched his chest over where his heart was. Something was clawing, _crushing_ his heart mercilessly giving no signs of relieving him of any amount of pain it could inflict on him…

…and yet…it didn't feel like it was _his_ heart that was actually feeling the pain…more like…

_What's happening to me? Inuyasha…help me…please…_

"…Kagome…!" The crushing feeling intensified as he clenched his teeth. His back arched so that his chest was slightly lifted from the futon as his eyes shutting tightly. He didn't even notice anyone waking up, too focused on the conversation that was going on internally, but from where he was still uncertain.

_Soon, girl…everything will make sense soon…the pain will alleviate, I assure you. But until then…_

_No-! Please stop-! You'll never use me or my powers for this-! Inuyasha where are you? I need you! Please hurry!_

"Where…where are you…? Tell me…and I'll come…damn it just tell me where you are!" He whispered hoarsely through desperate gasps of air.

_I-I don't know- I can't see anything! Inuyasha, just follow your heart! I'll be there!_

"Kagome…Kagome-!" A sense of dread overcame him as the crushing feeling tensed around his heart one last time before releasing him, flinging his back down against the futon and leaving without a trace.

Inuyasha lay there, hand still clutching his chest where his heart was, beads of sweat trickling down his face and chest. He knew he was gasping for air, but he didn't really give a damn at the moment.

"Inuyasha, what happened to ye?" Kaede asked, reaching out to the bucket of water with the cloth draped over its lip.

"Kagome…she spoke to me. I have to find her-! I have to-!" He made another attempt to sit up, but Sango pushed him back down. Not that she really needed to; the herbs still numbed his body pretty well.

"Inuyasha, what did Kagome say exactly?" Miroku asked sitting with his knees tucked under him. Inuyasha's face clouded over sadly as his ears drooped. He turned his head up to the ceiling, their amber irises burning intensely.

"She's hurt…" He said quietly, almost as if in shame. In all honesty, he _was_ ashamed of himself for not protecting Kagome better. He absolutely _hated_ himself now. He clenched his fists in fury. Why did it have to be this way?

"…She can't see anything, all she really said was to follow my heart, that she'd be there. There was another voice…but I don't know who it belonged to." His face only darkened as he stared up at the ceiling. Despite the darkness, they could all see the fire in Inuyasha's eyes as his stare burned into the wood above him.

"I _will_ find her, that much I'm sure of." He said in a low, dangerous growl as his fangs glinted in the moonlight. Kaede couldn't help but take a step back in surprise. She never would have thought that Inuyasha's bond with Kagome could be this strong, or his feelings for her this intense. Had this been Kikyo that was taken into everlasting darkness, even fifty years ago, the hanyou wouldn't be _this_ determined to save her. _'Perhaps,'_ the aged priestess mused as she added more herbs to the burner. _'He has finally found his true love this time…just as fate had planned.' _

"Rest now, Inuyasha- ye must be ready to save her." He growled, but once the herbs had burned fully, his eyelids drooped, covering his molten amber eyes. He tried fighting it, but the herbs pulled his body into a numbing state. He was asleep before he even knew it.

"Lady Kaede, I can't help but ask- do you think that Inuyasha had truly heard Kagome calling out to him, or was it merely his heart longing to hear her voice?" Miroku pondered, twirling his houshi staff slowly, causing it to catch the moonlight. Kaede only smiled.

"I do not doubt he made contact with Kagome, especially if he heard a second voice…" She frowned in thought, linking her arms behind her again.

"…Inuyasha might have also heard the voice of one of Kagome's captors."

"One of…? How can you be sure there is more than one?" Sango asked from beside Miroku.

"Well, Inuyasha said that he didn't know the other voice, and I am certain that he would recognize Naraku's voice almost anywhere, so Naraku must have at least one accomplice." Miroku bowed his head in thought.

"It makes sense enough, but for now we'll need to just rest. Like you said, Kaede- we need to be ready to save Kagome." What they didn't know was that, while he was physically asleep, Inuyasha's hearing was just as good as when he was awake. _'So, Naraku has accomplices this time around. Good, they'll all meet their death by my hand. Whether it be from my claws or my blade, I will be the end of them. Hang on just a while longer, Kagome- I'm coming.'_

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Well, not very exciting, but it will be pretty soon- I promise! R & R peeps!


	5. New Armor for a thousand miles

My fellow Americans…oh wait, wait…wrong speech –digs around computer files- AHA! –Ahem- A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far…no, no, no…-digs around on computer files more- Okay, let's try this AGAIN…Here's chappie 5 of Two Souls, One Heart…yep, that's the one!

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"But I don't understand any of it, Naraku…" The cloaked figure paced around the small wooden hut, its arms linked behind it.

"If we had simply taken _him_ as well, we wouldn't have to worry about the nuisance in the first place, so why only take the girl?" The hanyou directly opposite of the figure simply waved his hand to silence the cloaked being.

"Had we taken the half-demon as well, the connection between him and the priestess would have been strong enough to barrel out of the darkness…" He paused a moment, waving his hand horizontally at the waist level slowly. A foggy black smoke trailed sluggishly in the air after his hand.

"…and in turn, our own vengeance and greed would come back to haunt us in full circle." The fog that had materialized revealed a six inch tall premonition of both Inuyasha and Kagome separated about two inches apart. This was how the beings of darkness observed and kept a close eye on their enemy.

It showed Inuyasha leaning nearly all of his body weight against the door frame of Kaede's hut as he knees buckled and shook visibly underneath him. His face contorted in genuine pain yet he still pushed on to try and stand on his own. Sango, Miroku and Kaede all tried to pull him back into the hut, hell, even Shippo jumped on his shoulder to try and reason with him, but he shrugged them off. Though the two villains could not hear what they were saying, it was clear that Inuyasha was not going to give up his search for Kagome very easily.

The said miko's premonition was a much more broken, weaker sight, if that may seem at all possible. She was lying down on her back, her school sailor fuku torn across the stomach and on the left side of her skirt. Burn marks adorned the outfit in random spots, her socks and shoes absent from her feet. Bruises and cuts covered every inch of exposed skin on her body as she lay there unconscious. Wisps of dark raven hair were strewn across her face and spread out wildly around her head, which was turned to her right so that her cheek was touching the floor. One arm was bent upward at the elbows so that her hand was level with her face, the other bend at her side so that her hand was just close enough so that her fingertips could barely touch her hip.

Naraku waved his hand in the opposite direction than before, and the two images disappeared the same way they were created. His blood red irises glinted dangerously, greedily wanting the death of both the hanyou and the miko. His black hair swayed mischievously behind him in a nonexistent wind as he walked over to a cellar door with a tiny four-by-four barred window. He gripped the rusty handle tightly jerking it enough for the door to open an inch.

"And besides, you have seen how broken the two are without each other. Why not make them suffer for everything they have done to you, Kikyo?" (Like you didn't see that one coming .) The hooded figure lifted its hands to grip either side of its hood and pull it away from its face to reveal a woman with jet black hair with straight bangs. Two thick strands of hair looped past her ears, but then returned behind her head to meet with the rest of her hair in a white ribbon. Her skin was a pale sheet white hue, giving a sort of haunting, empty appearance about her. Her cold brown eyes were filled with hatred and pain.

"I can never forget what they have done to me. My copy…the miko…she stole Inuyasha from me. He was supposed to follow me into death, as I had done for him, but instead, he betrays me once again and chooses to stay diligently with my reincarnation." Her fists clenched at her sides, though her face remained stoic.

"They shall both pay for what they've done." The dark hanyou before her nodded, opening the cell door to reveal Kagome just as her premonition had portrayed her, though the display had failed to show the chains that were locked onto her wrists. Naraku turned back toward Kikyo, signaling to her that he would be a while, so it was her duty to guard the portal leading to their realm of darkness before he walked into the dark cell and shut the door behind him to the point where he had privacy though didn't lock it.

He stalked over to Kagome's limp form, kicking her sharply in the side with his boot. She cringed before weakly opening her hollow hazel eyes a quarter of the way

"Nnn…" she moaned painfully, feeling the raw scratching and burning in her throat from being abused so much in such a short time.

"Time to wake up, wench." Naraku spat at the battered girl lying helplessly on the floor.

Kagome blinked, opening her eyes half way turning her empty gaze to look at the evil hanyou. The said villain's stare burned painfully into the poor miko as she tried her best to stay awake. She didn't even try moving her body for fear of the pain that followed such actions.

"You have something that I want, but before I can have that, I must take something of yours that I need to complete the door." Her eyes widened in horror. She knew exactly what he was planning to take from her. He wanted her pure heart to add to his collection of the purest of heart- only seven priestesses wield such pure hearts as Naraku and his cohorts desired to reveal the door to everlasting, ever powerful darkness- a realm so sinister, the seven trials of hell would be a blessing in contrast.

"N-no…" She wheezed as she desperately tried to move, to fight so that she could keep her powers away from Naraku. Her body writhed in pain though didn't actually move anywhere partly because of the chains, partly because of her weak state of body and mind.

"Aka, I leave this to you." (Aka means red) A black orb materialized beside Naraku, widening into a swirling vortex portal of darkness. The portal dissipated to reveal a man with short spiky crimson hair and deep violet eyes. He was adorned in a dark grey kimono with a blade strapped at his side. Gothic incantations were painted in black onto the bronze sheath of the sword.

The young man nodded, sliding his blade out of its sheath. The whistle-like sound of the sword against the sides of the scabbard made Kagome's blood run cold. Her fearful gaze slid down the weapon. The blade itself looked very much like Sesshomaru's Tenseiga- thin and sleek, about three feet long, only instead of being a fang, it was made of pure silver with deep gothic incantations etched onto the blade, similar to the ones on its sheath.

Naraku watched Aka as he brought the blade's tip to rest on Kagome's neck, sending shivers coursing through her whole body. The tip of the sword was cold, numbing almost.

"…Such fine ivory skin…she has to be the prettiest one we've caught so far, ne?" Aka mused as Kagome continued to shiver, not from the coldness of the blade, but the coldness of that same blade's wielder- so much darker, so much more real.

The red headed villain suddenly drew the blade back fully, but the plunged it into Kagome's heart. It did no physical damage, nor had its wielder intended to…at least…not yet. The miko's eyes grew wide as she inhaled sharply, her body going absolutely numb. Vines of pure white light crept up the blade from Kagome's chest and were absorbed into the bronze hilt, causing the blade to give off a soft white glow that also encased Kagome.

Not even a moment later, the glow disappeared and Kagome was pushed back forcefully to the ground, where she whimpered once as she fell into the same position as before. Naraku nodded to Aka, signaling him to take his leave. Naraku got on one knee beside Kagome, smirking at her smugly.

"Now that that's been taken care of, there are only two more things I need from you." She gingerly nudged herself away from him.

"No…you have my powers…you can't have that…not my heart…" She whimpered, clutching a hand over her heart as if to protect it. Naraku lunged at her, picking her up by the throat and pinning her against the wall.

"I will get that from you just after I have your innocence." Her eyes widened in horror. She shook her head desperately against his grip on her neck.

"N-no…no…no…" She sobbed as tears streaked her face. She hadn't enough strength to defend herself, and her priestess powers couldn't regenerate fast enough to push him away. His free hand reached up to stroke her hair. His very touch burned with greed and hatred, causing Kagome to wince once again. This wasn't supposed to happen, not like this!

"Don't worry, this won't last very long."

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyznowiknowmyabclet'sseeifinuwillbefree(though most likely he wont be...)

"For the last time I don't need to rest! I'm perfectly fine!" Inuyasha stalked out the hut door, determination practically radiating off of his body. Two days…two WHOLE days he lied there in the hut wondering, worrying about Kagome. He felt no darkness left over in his body, no more physical pain, had free range of motion in his entire body, so he couldn't see why Kaede had wanted the four of them to be held back from looking for Kagome.

"Lady Kaede, I must agree with Inuyasha- he appears perfectly fine, and I don't detect any outside darkness still lingering in his body, so there's nothing stopping us from finding Kagome-sama." Miroku assured Kaede as he, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara walked out after Inuyasha. Kaede hurried out the door after the five.

"Wait just a moment, everyone- you must receive this before you go!" Everyone stopped and turned around. Miroku bowed politely to the aged miko.

"You're very generous, though we need nothing more, Lady Kaede." She shook her head sternly in response.

"You all need the armor I am going to give you so that you may fight the darkness that I am certain you will encounter. Come in just for a moment, all of you." Inuyasha cringed at the very though of going back into the hut that he considered his prison for the past two days. Not only that, but he really didn't want to be stalled any longer in his search for Kagome.

Normally, he would have argued that he didn't need any damned armor, that the robe of the fire rat would do just fine, but after the hell he was put through with that damn darkness in his body, he wasn't about to leave anything to chance. So, he reluctantly followed everyone else back inside the hut.

Once everyone was inside, Kaede walked over to a dust-covered wooden trunk with sacred incantations drawn all across the lid and lock. Pulling a rustic key from her kimono top, she inserted it into the lock, turning it with some difficulty due to the rust that had formed upon both the key and the lock over the years.

Everyone watched with curiosity as the miko began to rummage around the aged trunk, pulling out tiny trinkets whilst mumbling to herself incoherently. After a few moments of this, she rose again with five small wrapped up bundles of cloth in her arms.

"Sango, this armor was once owned by a fierce taijia that had slain thousands of demons in her lifetime, so if anyone deserves this, it would be ye." She handed Sango a bundle as everyone watched with curiosity as she unwrapped the item.

The cloth revealed a silver band with a tiny pink jewel at its center. She slid the bracelet on her wrist, curiosity and confusion evident across her features.

"What is this supposed to do…?" No sooner had she spoken, the band glowed, wrapping around her arm and slowly spreading to encase her body.

When the light dissipated, Sango's new armor was pretty much the same, only instead of black and pink, it was silver and had navy blue elfin protection spells carved and painted all along the armor, and her pink loin cloth looking thing wasn't there anymore. Her katana was replaced with a sturdy silver sheathed blade at her side to better fight off demons, and her Hiraikotsu was now a navy blue with silver straps for handles. She smiled approvingly at her new armor, bowing in thanks to Kaede.

Kaede smiled, handing Miroku his wrapped trinket. He eagerly unwrapped it to reveal what appeared to be a sleek silver dagger with a sapphire colored handle. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands curiously watching the sun catch the blade, giving it a mischievous glint.

Just as Sango's band had done to her, Miroku's dagger encased him in a blinding light for a moment, but when the light subsided, a certain taijia had to turn her head to hide the blush that found its way across her cheeks. Miroku wore a black tank top with a matching long sleeved cloak over it, his pants also a matching black. The dagger had grown to a full sword that was now in a silver sheath at his side. Black shoes with silver straps and studs replaced his bamboo sandals, and his tiny gold hoop earrings were replaced with silver studs.

"That armor was owned by a powerful houshi-sama long ago who had over powered many evils. May it protect you in your time of need." Miroku nodded, pulling out his sword and inspecting it. It looked as it did when it was a dagger, only it was now the size of a regular sword.

Kaede bent down and handed Shippo and Kirara both their packages, which Shippo had to untie both of them due to the fact that Kirara had no hands to aid her with the task. Shippo's was a katana his size with an emerald green sheath, and Kirara's was a red collar with a silver stud in the middle. Shippo yelped in glee as he put his katana at his side and Kirara's collar around her neck. After a moment, Shippo's katana encased him in light, disappearing to reveal a barbarian outfit, his pelt still there, but he now sported metal shoulder pads and boots, along with his katana and a dark brown shirt.

Kirara's collar glowed as well, revealing that she also now sported new red anklets that matched her collar. Kaede petted the two tailed cat youkai in between the ears playfully as it danced around with the kitsune, both cheering about their new armor and how kawaii (cute, pretty, etc) they looked.

"Shippo, your armor once protected the son of a great demon, may it also protect you. Kirara, your armor was once your descendant's from years past, may its powers be bestowed upon you."

Finally, Kaede turned to Inuyasha solemnly, handing him the last of the wrapped trinkets. He took it into his hands, gingerly opening the cloth mindful that he didn't snag it with his claws. His eyes widened in confusion and wonder at the item cradled in his hands.

It appeared to be a broach for a male, made of pure silver in the shape of a lion's head with the mouth open, a silver ring jutting out from inside of its gaping jaws. It glowed a white light, just as everyone else's had, and encased him in the glow.

He suddenly felt an unexplainable surge power coursing through him, as if he were a full youkai. For a moment, he feared he was, but a quick inventory of his claws and his lack of rage and desire for blood confirmed he was still very much a hanyou. The light faded, though the sense of power stayed. His eyes swept over the new armor, his eyes widening at the new look.

His fire rat haori and red hakama pants were gone, instead he now sported black pants that were not nearly as baggy as his hakama pants, black boots with silver studs lining them, a tight black tank top that showed his muscles rather well, and a navy blue cloak that flowed to his ankles, though he noted how his right arm lacked a sleeve, its shoulder only being covered by a navy blue shoulder plate and his left arm sported a long sleeve with not even half as long of a flowing sleeve as his haori. A single black belt was strapped from his right shoulder plate to wrap around his left side and up his back to the plate again. He looked to his left pectoral, seeing the lion's head broach pinned to his cloak over his heart, as if to protect it. He also noted the high collar of the cloak, either side of it a few inches below chin level, but never touched his skin. Two black belts with silver buckles criss-crossed at his waist, and he noted how his Tetsusaiga was still thankfully at his side. He raised a hand to eye level, seeing how they were both now covered in black leather gloves. (Basically, he stole Cloud's outfit from Final Fantasy VII)

"And that, Inuyasha, was the armor of a great warrior from years past that had stopped at nothing to protect everything he had cherished and battled victoriously over many trials of evil. May it protect you from the darkness you will undoubtedly encounter, and reveal the light you seek." He nodded, catching the hidden meaning of his armor. The one who had last inhabited this armor did anything for that of which he had cherished, very much like himself. Also, when Kaede had said let it reveal the light that he sought, he knew she was talking about Kagome.

Five orbs flittered over to Kaede's awaiting arms, turning into the four peoples' outfits they had originally always worn- Sango's taijia suit, Miroku's houshi-sama robes, Shippo's little bright blue top and dark blue hakama, and Inuyasha's fire rate haori and hakama pants were all in Kaede's arms.

"I shall hold on to these for you, until ye return." With a last nod of understanding and thanks, they all set out once again in search of Kagome, Inuyasha taking lead of the group.

"Inuyasha, how are we going to find Kagome? We don't even know where she's been taken!" Shippo wailed, hopping on Inuyasha's shoulder plate. The hanyou snorted, still keeping his gaze set ahead of him.

"I'll follow wherever I can feel her-"

"Whoa…I knew you've been getting tips from Miroku on how to pick up Kagome and all, but…"

"Wha…no not like _that_, Shippo; I'm definitely _not_ Miroku." Inuyasha snapped irritably, then adding as a side note,

"And I have NOT been getting tips off of him, got it? It's not his fault he likes to talk about women...all the time…okay, so maybe he has an obsession with women that must be taken care of, but I still haven't been getting tips from him, alright?" For the first time that morning, Inuyasha actually tore his gaze from the path ahead of him to look at Shippo irritably; he hadn't been all too keen on making eye contact with anyone since Kaede had forced him to rest at the hut.

"Anyway, what I meant was I can sense her; I can tell where she is, that's all." The kitsune gave a nod as a reply before he hopped off of Inuyasha's shoulder and skipped along beside Kirara, humming a tune.

Inuyasha swore he almost stopped breathing when he heard Shippo hum that tune. Kagome had sung that song to Shippo whenever the little kit couldn't sleep. Though Inuyasha would never admit it to anyone, he always swiveled his ears in the direction of her beautiful voice and let it soothe him into sleep. She had called the song "A Thousand Miles," once or twice, whenever Shippo asked her the next morning.

The more Inuyasha listened to Shippo humming, he almost swore he heard Kagome whisper the lyrics into his ear as the wind blew gently.

"…Inuyasha…hey, Inuyasha, are you sure you're feeling okay…?"

"Huh?" He turned his head to see Miroku looking at him curiously, one brow raised.

"I asked you if you were feeling alright, you seemed to be in a deep trance of some sort."

"Oh…y-yeah, I'm fine, you should worry more about yourself, being a human and all." Miroku simply laughed and shook his head in response, falling back to walk beside Sango. No one said anything else for at least an hour, each individual .wallowed in their own, separate thoughts.

Inuyasha suddenly felt a tug at his heart strings. Not like a bad sort of tug, but more like a pull in a certain direction, like a lead line attached to a horse, guiding him to a certain destination that he knew without a doubt was where Kagome was.

"I found her." His voice shattered the silence in a hoarse, crackly whisper as his legs halted due to a heavier-than-lead sensation he was experiencing.

"Nani, Inuyasha…?" Sango asked in a low, disbelieving voice.

"I found her…I found Kagome."

"Where is she, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked urgently beside Sango. Inuyasha pointed to a mountain northeast from their position.

"There- at Yama no Kurai, that's where Kagome is; I'm sure of it." (Yama no Kurai means Dark Mountain) Kirara took that as her signal to transform and burst into flames that encased her entire body, starting out as a tiny fire but widened to a fireball the size of a boulder. When the flames dissipated, she stood five feet tall, about the same in length from her head to her two tails. Her front two K-9 fangs jutted out from her lips to curve down three inches, almost to her chin.

Without another word, Miroku and Sango mounted Kirara as Shippo hopped on Inuyasha's shoulder plate, as he had done before. Kirara crouched her knees a moment before springing into the air, galloping through the wind to push herself further while small bursts of fire ringed around her ankles. Inuyasha followed beneath her on the ground, using his demonic speed to keep up with the fire cat youkai.

!Commercial Break!

I just wanted to mention how much I love Ramen! Ramen noodles is the best food in the world that is available in many flavors and varieties, and thanks to Rumiko Takahashi and her awesomeness with le animeishness, Ramen is now available at an affordable price at any grocery store in America! Ahem, on with the story then (I just had to get that off of my chest!)

Inuyasha wasn't sure exactly how long he had been running, but before he knew it, darkness had encased the sky, the sun being replaced by the moon, the clouds by the stars.

"Inuyasha, Kirara's getting tired; what do you say we rest for the night?" Sango called down to the hanyou and the kitsune youkai.

"Yeah, we might as well; we're making good progress as it is." He really didn't want to stop, but he also had to keep in mind that he was traveling with humans- they couldn't keep going nearly as long as he could, and without Kirara to carry them, they wouldn't be getting anywhere fast.

Miroku started a fire while Inuyasha went out to get enough firewood to keep it burning until they all fell asleep. Sango pulled out blankets for everyone and kept watch over Shippo and Kirara until the two men were done with their tasks.

Miroku, Shippo, Sango, and Kirara all fell asleep within ten minutes of their arrival. Inuyasha, on the other hand, simply stared into the dying embers of the campfire with a sad, longing expression. Albeit the crackle of the flames, silence ensued throughout the night, which left him completely to his thoughts without a single disruption.

All he could think about was Kagome; every thought, every memory was driven by her and her alone. The wind picked up to tease his hair and the collar of his cloak, carrying with it a familiar, angelic voice that he would know all too well anywhere he went.

"_Makin' my way downtown_

_walking fast_

_faces pass and I'm homebound,"_

He was taken back at the sound…she was here…she was here-! He stood and waited for her to continue so that he could trace her voice to its source, turning slowly around to see if he could spot her. How did she escape? How badly was she hurt? So many questions swam through his head as he searched the landscape for her, but once his rationality and logic took over, then it occurred to him…

"_staring blankly ahead_

_just makin' my way_

_I'm makin' a way_

_Through the crowd"_

He sank back to his seat in agony. It wasn't her; it was just their connection again that made it so he could hear her. He buried his face in his gloved hands, closing his eyes in defeat. So…he really was no closer to her than he was when they stopped…she's still at the mountain and he's still here.

"_and I need you_

_and I miss you_

_and now I wonder…"_

He opened his eyes lifting his head slightly out of his hands as he felt a sudden warmth wrap around his shoulders from behind him, as if to offer him comfort, shelter from his pain. The sensation was all too familiar, and then…he understood…

"…Kagome…"

"_if I could fall into the sky_

_do you think time would pass me by_

_cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles_

_if I could just see you…tonight"_

"I feel the same way…" He whispered to himself as he felt the warmth spread across his chest and back, like someone was holding him from behind while they leaned into his back.

"_it's always times like these_

_when I think of you_

_and wonder if you ever think of me"_

_'I'm always thinking of you, Kagome.' _He secretly thought, the invisible warmth soothing him, as if to say that everything was going to be alright. _'Everything had better be alright once this is all said and done.' _He tensed a moment, though couldn't remain so as he felt the warmth intensify, but in a pleasant way, as if someone you care about was holding you closely.

"_Cause everything's so wrong_

_and I don't belong _

_livin' in your precious memory"_

Inuyasha would have objected, said that he was the one undeserving of having her in his memory, but that was a little too out of character for him. That and he was afraid if he interrupted the song, it would end as quickly as it came. What he wouldn't give to have this be real…that it was truly Kagome sitting there beside him, singing and not just listening through their ties, holding him like this only should she have been here, he would have turned around andheld her tightly as if to never let go.

"_Cause I need you_

_and I miss you_

_and now I wonder…"_

Now he wondered, too- he wondered if she was alright. If she wasn't, he would rip apart every bastard and/or bitch that dared to touch her. That, and…and he needed her, too…though he would never admit it! What would everyone think of him if he ever said that? They would most likely think him weak, timid even!

"_If I could fall into the sky_

_do you think time would pass me by_

_cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles_

_if I could just see you…tonight"_

"No-!" The warmth around his shoulders began to lessen slightly, began to lift itself from hismuscular frameas if to warn him of its farewell. He couldn't let that happen, not yet. He stood, desperately trying to follow the warmth wherever it was going.

"WAIT-!…Wait…"

"_And I, I don't want to let you know_

_I, I drown in your memory_

_I, I don't want to let this go_

_I, I don't…"_

"Then don't…if you don't want to let go…then don't…" He pleaded, sinking back to his seat desperately. The warmth followed him, encased him once more. He sighed in relief, his tension dissipating through Kagome's distant comfort.

"_Makin' my way downtown_

_walking fast_

_faces pass and I'm homebound"_

Thank the gods that he was allowed this small time to connect with Kagome, to feel her heartbeat, hear her voice, to feel her warmth. No matter how small a feeling he may get or how little time it lasts, it was enough to satisfy a small bit of him. It assured him that she was alive and her heart strong enough to find his. That in and of itself was just enough for him to get by with, if only for a little while, until he could actually hold Kagome in his arms again, or at least have the option of doing so open to him.

"_And I still need you,_

_and I still miss you, _

_and now I wonder…"_

Her voice was growing quiet, much to Inuyasha's disappointment. He knew the song was almost over, and once that happened it was likely that their connection would be broken again. Kami-sama how he didn't want this to end, not now and not ever, though he knew it would have to; it still broke his heart that it had to end so suddenly.

"_If I could fall into the sky_

_do you think time would pass us by_

_cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles _

_if I could just see you…_

_if I could just…hold you…tonight…"_

His shoulders suddenly felt cold, lonely, empty as the warmth lifted from his shoulders and completely dissipated without a trace. He stood trying to retrace Kagome's spiritual hold on him, but the attempt was futile; their connection was broken. He fell on his hands and knees, feeling an unfamiliar prickly feeling behind his eyes. He shook his head roughly, refusing to let any tears to be shed; he had to be strong, not only for himself, but for Kagome as well.

He needed to be strong for Kagome.

He stood up tall and proud, his shoulders pulled back, head held up high. His eyes burned with determination and pride;Kagome was always there for him when he was weak, or on the verge of giving up. She was always helping him stand spiritually and emotionally, giving him a reason to fight, to be strong. Then he did something that he thought he wouldn't be doing for a long time.

He grinned.

For he knew that Kagome had done all of these things for him, and now it was his turn. His turn to show her how much he cared, how much he supported her, had faith in her, trusted her. Now it was his turn to be her emotional and physical pillar.

And he was going to rise up to the occasion, just as they always had. Together.

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LONGEST CHAPTER IN THE STORY! YAH –throws confetti- okay, party time over. I apologize to the reader (keyword: READER) of this story, but unless I get some more people to review, I'm deleting the story. Well, maybe not, but I'm seriously considering it.


	6. hearts intertwine

Okay, I decided to continue the story. I don't think it's really fair to the one person that is reading this if I just deleted it right in the middle of the story- I know I wouldn't like that if it happened to me. Here's chapter 6, though here's a warning- this chapter contains a lot of angst and drama, only a little fluff so read with caution.

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"No…how c-could you…" Kagome whimpered from her spot on the cellar floor, tears staining her cheeks and refusing to stop their endless flow of sorrow. Naraku loomed over her badly beaten body, his pupil-less red irises gleaming brightly against the dark surroundings of the cell.

"Now that we've gotten that taken care of, I'll need that pure heart of yours to bring me that much closer to everlasting power." Another orb of darkness appeared beside him, widening into a black portal of empty abyss. It dissipated, revealing Aka once again. Kagome whimpered once again from the floor.

Aka smiled coldly, sliding his sword out of its sheath resting the tip of the blade against Kagome's chest over her heart.

"Hasn't this happened before, love? I could swear this is history repeating itself." Kagome would have growled in disgust, but the rawness and burning in her throat prevented her from making any noise more audible than a whisper. How could he joke like that about her life being in his hands? He had no right!

"I'm sorry it had to end like this love, I really am." He added a bit more pressure to the blade though not enough to puncture her flesh just yet, whether to give her a chance to retaliate to his disgusting and over confident remark or to prolong the time she had left to possess her heart was uncertain. Her eyes narrowed slightly her pain temporarily forgotten.

"You won't get my heart. I won't let you." She whispered hoarsely against the scratching in her throat. Aka laughed coldly at her remark just before he stabbed through her heart with his blade, though no blood was shed, no puncture wound in her flesh created, no scream of death, only a soft pink light that encased Kagome's limp body as her eyes grew wide, their pupils contracting triple their rightful size.

"That's what the last four said, Kags."

"Over there, Inuyasha!" Shippo cried from Inuyasha's shoulder, pointing to a stone shack about three yards off of the side of the dirt path. It was practically on the verge of breaking down by the looks of it, and Inuyasha couldn't help but cringe at the stale scent of the place, as if no one had inhabited the area for a long time. He turned around just as Kirara was landing behind him, looking from his comrades to the shack and back with skepticism.

"You sure you wanna stop here for the night? It's so dilapidated I don't even know if it'll hold up for much longer." Miroku nodded dismounting Kirara.

"I sense a strong spiritual aura encasing this area, so if there's anywhere that we'd be safest, this would be it for tonight." The hanyou nodded half-heartedly just before walking over to a tattered, worn out beige cloth that served as a makeshift door. He brushed aside the cloth with his elbow before he entered the tiny building, his friends all in tow.

The space provided enough room for the five of them mainly because of the fact that it was completely empty, albeit the five current inhabitants. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara all looked around the left side of the area while Inuyasha inspected the right though for what reason was still a mystery to the hanyou.

"There's something about this musty place…" Inuyasha turned his head to the right and almost jumped in surprise when Kagome walked over. She walked past him with her arms linked behind her, a warm smile gracing her beautiful face. Inuyasha was in a trance even from her simple movements though he wanted nothing more than to run up to her and embrace her tightly. Yet he simply watched as Kagome stopped to stare out of a small moss-covered circular window.

"It reminds me of the Shinto Shrine back home, where you would always drag me back to this time…" She turned to face him, her warm hazel eyes glittering brightly, so bright Inuyasha swore she lit the space up. Her smile…it sent him higher than the heavens when she smiled like that.

"…remember?" Gods, how could he not remember? That happened more times than he would care to count. His breath hitched in his throat as he tried coming up with an intelligent answer for her. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat as best as he could before he managed to find his voice.

"Kagome," He whispered taking a shaky breath as he stepped toward her, reaching a hand slightly out to her, his soul screaming for her warmth, her comfort. His heartbeat quickened as she still had not moved, her bright eyes shimmering lovingly at him, her smile never leaving her face.

"Inuyasha…?" Shippo asked from behind him. The hanyou reluctantly turned to his friends, who were all looking at him in sympathy, as if to offer him their comfort. He turned back to look at Kagome again, but his eyes widened when she wasn't there. _'Now I'm hallucinating, gods why do I torture myself with this? Why does this happen to me even when I don't want it to…?' _He thought sadly his ears drooping to flatten against his skull.

"Just…just thinking…l-let's set up camp." He said quickly as he grabbed the blankets, tossing one to each of his friends from one of Kagome's backpacks; she had always left a few here, just incase something happened to her yellow one. Just as he was reaching in to toss out one to Shippo, his heart almost crushed at the sight of two blankets- a red one and a navy blue one- that were still left after he handed out the last of the needed items, bringing back a memory of one of the more recent times Kagome had offered him one of the blankets…

_"Come on, Inuyasha just take the blanket. Even if you don't use it, at least take it to make me feel a little better, please?" Kagome pleaded, offering him the red blanket from her pack._

_"Feh, I don't need it so why bother taking it?" Inuyasha huffed from his spot in the tree, crossing his arms._

_"Because it'll make me feel a little better knowing you at least have it, now will you please take it?" She offered politely._

_"I said I don't need it, wench." He said in a growl, though he put no force behind his argument. Kagome's eyes filled with tears._

_"Why you, you insensitive jerk- OSUWARI!" The hanyou was thrown to the ground face first just as Kagome stalked over to her spot on the ground._

_"I don't know why you have to be so rude, but goodnight!" She said bitterly as she lied down on the dirt floor, wrapping herself in a navy blue blanket._

It took all Inuyasha had not to pull out the navy blue one and bury his face in it, just so that he could still breathe in Kagome's scent, so he hastily shut the pack and threw it aside, taking his place beside the door, Tetsusaiga at his side resting against his left shoulder. Mumbling a good night to everyone, he closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep. His ears listened carefully as the rest of his friends settled down and all started to fall asleep.

He waited until all he could hear was everyone's steady breathing before he let two slits of his amber eyes show in the pale moonlight that streamed from the small circular window. He looked over at the grayish backpack just to his side that he had thrown over there only a few moments ago. Even without actually holding the blanket that contained Kagome's scent, he could still pick up her gentle aroma emitting from inside the pack.

He stared at the pack for the longest time while his heart recalled upon many memories against his will of Kagome always searching through her huge yellow pack, whether it be to bandage him up after a major battle or to get food out for everyone whenever they stopped, or sometimes pull out her "school books" from her time to study late at night when she thought no one was watching her. He didn't want to have all these flashbacks, but it was like his heart was willing him to never forget a single detail of her beauty, her laugh, her smile, nothing about her at all.

He tried fighting it, oh gods how he tried fighting the urge to pull the blanket out and bury his face into it, but he couldn't help it; the slight whiff of her scent was beginning to tease him, coaxing him into actually and deeply inhaling the scent. He gingerly leaned Tetsusaiga against the wall beside him before he reached a gloved hand to grip the handle of the grayish pack and pulled it to himself so he could pull out the navy blue blanket. It appeared black in the dark, but he could tell that it was the one he was looking for- her scent was caked all over it.

He folded up the blanket and rested it on his knees before he hugged them to his chest tightly. He gently rested his head atop the blanket, his arms encircling his knees, hiding his head from the world. He buried his nose into the soft cloth of the blanket, trying to let all his heartache go at the memory of Kagome's premonition that had appeared before him tonight. _'Why do I keep doing this to myself? Why am I adding injury to a pain that I never wanted to experience?' _He thought in despair, managing to cover his eyes with his bangs just before a single teardrop trailed down his cheek and became soaked up into the blanket.

He pulled himself together enough that he didn't shed anymore tears, but it didn't heal his heart; no matter how hard he tried, the pain was still there, ever powerful, ever haunting his every thought.

He leaned back against the wall, bringing the blanket with him, hugging it closely to his chest as he shut his eyes. Her lingering scent enveloped him in a serene state of limbo between consciousness and sleep, and for the first time in almost a week, he fell into a deep slumber and almost swore Kagome was snuggled up against his chest rather than a blanket with a remnant of her beautiful rose pedal and vanilla scent. That's how he would have rather had it, but he knew that it would be that way soon enough.

"That's it, love- hand your heart over. Give into the darkness…" Aka cooed darkly to the pinkish glowing miko before he drilled his blade a little deeper into her, causing her to shudder slightly though she remained paralyzed. She shut her eyes tightly, focusing all of what was left of her energy into finding Inuyasha.

_Inuyasha…_

She felt a heartbeat other than her own begin to beat soundly from across a vast distance, and she knew all too well that it was Inuyasha's heart complying with her silent request, even if he didn't know it yet.

An amber glowing orb the size of a softball floated out of her chest, its white center whirling with a pure and innocent essence. Before either of the villains could stop it, white swirls of light encased the heart, suddenly beginning to dissolve away into a dust-like existence.

The soft pink glow dissipated from Kagome's body as her heart left the realm of darkness, and the two villains could have sworn that just before she let her heart go, she wore a small smile on her face.

"Damn that girl, must she make everything so complicated?" Aka demanded before his fist clenched, connecting with the cell's stone wall beside him out of pure fury. Naraku paused for a moment, his face clouding over in thought before a dark grin found its way onto his face.

"If anything, she's just making it easier on us." He said in a low voice. Aka turned to him arching a crimson brow in skepticism as he lowered his fist from the wall he had taken to beating.

"Now that Inuyasha's and Kagome's hearts have combined, it will make it even easier for him to track us down, and once we've lured him and his companions in…" He punched his fist into his opposite palm, his grin only growing more sinister at the very thought of knocking two birds with one stone.

"…we can destroy both Inuyasha and his damned friends. Once they're out of the way, we can continue collecting the other two priestesses and opening the door that shall lead us into everlasting darkness.

Shippo opened one eye groggily a moment when he heard Inuyasha faintly whimper in his sleep, though the kitsune kept his back to him. He was somewhat surprised but did nothing to wake the hanyou. He understood, even in his young age, that Inuyasha was missing Kagome terribly, even more than everyone else. It didn't take all that much thought for the kitsune to realize that Inuyasha was in love with Kagome and feared her safety, so he wouldn't insult or remark what he had witnessed here and now- he understood the pain Inuyasha felt, if only a little bit of it, and figured to let it alone; once they had rescued Kagome she would head his wounded heart as she had done before. With that thought, the little kitsune closed his eye again, snuggling into Kirara's fur a bit more before he fell back into sleep.

Of course, had Shippo managed to stay awake, he would have seen what Inuyasha didn't- the spot on the hanyou's chest over his heart glowed a soft pink for one small instant before the small light left him without a trace, leaving only a warmth that brought a smile to the subconscious Inuyasha's handsome moonlit face.

_Kagome…_

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For those of you who played the game know what just happened, but for those of you that didn't (AND WHY DIDN'T YOU? j/k) I'll explain a little later in the story. R & R peeps!


	7. Cruel Fate

I watched the Inuyasha episodes where they found out Kikyo was alive and Kagome saved her, and all I could think was "WHY WON'T THEY LET THE CLAY POT BITCH DIE, ALREADY?" I mean, almost no one likes her (though we now know how she acted while she was alive, which wasn't much different) and she's just a dead…clay pot…BITCH! –Ahem- now that I've gotten that off my chest, here's chapter seven! (Oh, and this chapter was written mainly to get rid of my writer's block, so most of it is just major fluff)

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_Her body fit perfectly against his as he held her closely to himself, cradling her fragile, soft frame against his toned and muscular chest. His voice whispered her name over and over again, as if to make sure she was really there while he began stroking her hair lovingly. Her only response to his tender actions was a warm smile into his chest before she snuggled closer to her hanyou. Despite the dark of night that shadowed the earth, a smile was evident on both of their faces. When she didn't vanish as she had done before, he sighed contently into the hair on her crown, shakily inhaling her wonderfully powerful and alluring scent, pulling her as close as he could without cutting off her circulation. Though his breaths were shaky, he wasn't crying- they were hesitant breaths, as if to check and make sure that this was all real._

_"Inuyasha…" Just hearing her whisper his name not from desperate gasps of air, but in a soothing manner as if to comfort and ease away his fears, made him want to truly feel what it was like to have her full, luscious lips against his own. He however, refrained from doing so (though the desire still lingered). His hold on her tightened, as if to silently assure her that he never intended to let go._

_"I'm so sorry it took me so long to find you, Kagome…" She shook her head against his warm chest, the heat relaxing her tense muscles. She knew that this wasn't real, but he was blissfully unaware that this was all simply a wishful thought the two shared, another connection between them. She didn't want to have to inform him, either; telling him would mean that it would be over sooner, and right now it was evident that the two just needed to be held in each other's arms, if only for a moment. She had no choice, however; she was the only one there to tell him, the only one that knew. And besides- the sooner he awoke, the sooner this could be made a reality. The conclusion was ever more bittersweet, as Kagome took a shaky breath of his rain scent before bearing the angstful news._

_"You know that this is a dream, don't you?" She said, though it sounded more like a statement than a question. His entire frame went rigid. No…this couldn't be a dream; this was all way too real! He could feel her warmth, her sweet, wonderful scent…_

…_her heartbeat…_

_"No…not again…" He mumbled painfully into her ebony tresses, his arms tightening their hold on her. Her heartbeat was existent…but not full, not truly there…hollow. The heart itself wasn't truly within Kagome's body anymore. Wherever it was exactly he didn't know. He wasn't going to let her go this time. Not now and not ever. Wherever she disappeared to, he would follow without complaint, so long as he was with her._

_She raised a dainty hand and began to tenderly stroke his silver locks of hair soothingly, more for her own comfort than his. His actions told her that he had no intention of letting her go, despite the fact that he wouldn't have much of a choice in a few moments._

_"I'm sorry, Inuyasha…I'm so sorry…" She mumbled into his chest as her hand continued to comb through his silver hair. He buried his head deeper into her ebony locks, almost in a pleading manner. In a sense, he was pleading- he was silently pleading her not to leave him._

_"Dammit don't be sorry, Kagome! Just don't fade away again!" He yelled against her crown, holding her as close as the laws of physics would allow him. She shut her eyes and leaned into his chest more, which he responded to only by tightening his hold on her._

_"Shh…Inuyasha…" She whispered soothingly to the vulnerable hanyou in an attempt to calm him, her fingers still running through his thick locks of silver hair. This continued a moment before she pulled back only enough to gaze intensely into his eyes, a loving smile finding its way onto her face. The hand that was combing his hair pulled away to gently hold his left cheek. His amber eyes shimmered desperately as they searched her features, his face absolutely a broken reflection of his heartache and pain that he had so carefully masked in reality though could not in his dreams._

_"Kagome, onegai suru ie no iku!" _(Kagome, please do not go)_ He begged one last time, though he knew deep down that she had no control over any of this, nor did he. Her thumb rubbed across his smooth tan skin softly, slowly. He leaned into her touch without a second thought as to what he was doing. She leaned in close to his ear,_

_"Inuyasha oboeru…" She whispered softly into the white triangular appendage attached to his head. A white light began to encase the space around them, giving Kagome a sort of fading appearance._

_"…watashi ga soko…itsumo." _

_"Kagome…"_

_"KAGOME-!"_

His eyes snapped open in horror. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead, leaving sluggish trails of perspiration upon his moonlit face. A black gloved hand unconsciously reached up and wiped furiously at the cold trickles of sweat that stained his features. He was panting for air, even that much was hard for him to consciously register in his mind as he tried to let his heart calm itself.

He failed miserably.

Hastily putting the navy blue blanket away safely in the backpack, he focused his attention on the rising sun, its powerfully bright rays letting him escape the heartache and agony of waiting for all of these visions and premonitions to become a reality, letting him forget, just for now, that darkness lurked all around him, searching for him, craving his death.

If only for a moment, all evils were forgotten.

He nearly missed the arousal of his friends from the coming rays of the sun. Hastily turning to them, he bid them a gruff good morning before picking up Tetsusaiga and sliding it into the holder on his black belt as he stood.

"Inuyasha, how much longer do you think we have before we come to the Yama no Kurai?" Sango asked curiously as she lifted her now navy blue Hiraikotsu over her shoulders to let the silver strap slip to hang from her left shoulder to her right hip. Inuyasha placed a thumb under his chin in thought.

"Well, if we keep going at this pace, I say we'll get there in about…two…maybe three days…" He stopped when he realized the same thing as everyone else.

"Two or three…days…" He whispered sadly. No one, not even Shippo or Kirara, needed to be told why that was such a sad conclusion. None of them knew Kagome's condition, not even Inuyasha. That left open the option that Kagome might not have two or three days to be held captive. Two or three days was something that they couldn't chance. Not with a situation like this.

"Well then- we simply won't rest until we are at least at the foot of Kurai-sama." (Mt. Kurai) Miroku concluded, dusting off his black cloak. Inuyasha blinked at the group in awe. He shrugged it off and put on his tough guy act, as usual.

"If you think you can handle it, I'm not complaining." Inuyasha gruffly replied, trying his best to hide his joy and excitement. Shippo raised a hand and punched the air with enthusiasm.

"Yeah, we can handle it! Right, Kirara?" The fire cat youkai (demon) gave an ecstatic 'mew' in reply as she pranced in place to show her excitement. Sango nodded in agreement to the idea, utter determination written across her face. It wasn't until that very moment that Inuyasha realized that he and Kagome had such dedicated friends that were willing to go through such a challenge of endurance just to make sure that their friend was back safely. His chest puffed up in pride knowing that he now had a family, a place to belong. He hadn't felt like that since his childhood.

"Let us hurry, then." Miroku said urgently. Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

"Hai, then let's go." (Hai means yes) Without a word, the five of them left the hut and were once again on their way to Dark Mountain.

"Hey, Inuyasha, are you feeling okay?" Shippo asked from Inuyasha's shoulder plate as he ran to keep up with Sango and Miroku riding on Kirara above the two. The hanyou snorted arrogantly.

"Feh, of course I am, why do you ask?"

"Well, I heard you whimper in your sleep last night…" The kitsune's voice trailed off, afraid to finish the sentence.

"…" The hanyou fell silent a moment, mentally cursing himself for acting out his emotions in his sleep.

"I wasn't 'whimpering' or anything, Shippo. You were probably dreaming or something." Normally, Shippo would have argued back like the little child that he was, but fell silent for the rest of the trip; he knew Inuyasha didn't deserve to be hassled for having intense feelings for Kagome.

When Shippo fell silent, Inuyasha returned his thoughts to his dream. He was still thinking of Kagome's last words to him before he woke up. Not that he had much choice- the words were there, plain and clear as day, haunting him to no end. But he didn't mind; it wasn't a sort of upsetting kind of haunting, but rather an unforgettable reminder of something wonderful.

"_Inuyasha oboeru…watashi ga soko…itsumo."_

Remember…I am there near you…always.

The words lingered in his mind, in his heart. He grinned at that. He liked this sort of lingering warmth inside his body. It was sort of like she was near even though he knew she wasn't. He was so enthralled in this new feeling, he nearly failed to hear Sango's scream above him.

"What's wrong, Sango?" the hanyou called up from beneath the flying neko (cat) demon. The taijia said nothing, but pointed a shaky hand just ahead of them. Turning his head to follow her gaze, his eyes widened at the sight. A young boy, no older than thirteen wore a black demon slayer's outfit with light green shoulder pads and a matching loincloth on the outside of his pants. A matching katana was strapped on his left side, a long, sleek sickle made of a sharpened youkai bone on a wrapped up chain was on his right. His black hair was pulled into a short pony tail resting high on his head. His empty violet eyes bore into the five of them as Kirara landed beside Inuyasha.

"Kohaku…" Sango called out softly to her little brother as she dismounted Kirara. Inuyasha stuck his arm out in front of her to act as a sort of barrier against the saddened taijia. Sango looked over at Inuyasha, who simply shook his head sternly, refusing to break eye contact with the young boy. Shippo took this as his sign to leave, so he quickly hopped off of Inuyasha's shoulder and bounded off to the sidelines alone.

"Sango, we can't fight him, but in the state he's in, I highly doubt he's our friend."

"I agree with Inuyasha, Sango. There's nothing we can do but hope Naraku hasn't sent him to finish us off." They both faintly heard Inuyasha suppress a snort.

Kohaku whipped out his sickle chain and began to swing it over his head in a circular motion with his right hand, the rest of the chain gripped in his left. Sango's heart began to break at the thought of having to fend off her very own ototosan (little brother). His sickle flew from his finger tips in an arch over his head, the chain trailing behind it like a demented kite string.

Sango flipped the Hiraikotsu off her shoulders and stabbed it firmly into the ground in front of her to serve as a shield against the weapon sailing at her. The sickle ricocheted off of the bone boomerang and landed idly a few feet away from its target.

"Kohaku, that's enough. I'll take it from here." Aka said, coming from seemingly nowhere. The young taijia nodded, collecting his sickle and retreating to the sidelines.

"Just who in the hell are you?" Inuyasha demanded, ripping Tetsusaiga out of its sheath and cocking it in front of him in a fighting stance. Aka didn't react to the hanyou's stance or his weapon, acting as if he really didn't give a crap whether or not he was attacked.

"Me? Why, I'm Aka, I'm just the guy that is responsible for collecting the purest of heart." Inuyasha growled as his body shook with rage.

"You mean the seven priestesses?" Miroku asked gruffly, gripping his prayer beads just in case this guy should decide he preferred to die in the monk's wind tunnel. The red haired man nodded nonchalantly, flicking a bang of crimson from his face.

"You savvy pretty well over there, houshi." (Monk) Aka replied darkly to the monk, who had released the prayer beads from his grasp to grip his sword's sapphire handle in his right hand, prepared for combat. Inuyasha's growls grew ever more audible.

"So you're the bastard that took Kagome, along with Naraku!" The hanyou couldn't contain his anger any further and charged at the man in the grey cloak. He swung his blade horizontally with all of his strength, his every intention to decapitate the asshole. Just before the Tetsusaiga made contact with the man's flesh, he whipped out his own sword and countered it with a back shuffle. Inuyasha swung his blade over his head, only to have Aka raise his horizontally above his head to catch it before pushing it off of his sword.

"One could say that, though Naraku was responsible for her capture. I only extract their hearts, nothing more." Inuyasha stopped in mid swing of his steel fang, lowering the blade slowly.

"You didn't…" His glare grew darker and darker with every passing moment as his rage escalated to new heights such as he had never experienced before. He could feel it coursing through his veins like some sort of drug that added fuel to the fire growing inside of him.

"Of course I did, that's why we needed you."

"Where is she?" He growled venomously through clenched fangs. When the crimson haired male didn't answer, he raised his voice.

"I said: WHERE IS SHE?" The hanyou demanded one last time.

"You'll see her once you give into the darkness…just like she did." Tetsusaiga pulsed an electrifying blue that spread throughout Inuyasha's body. This rage, this fury, it was…indescribable. The anger and rage he experienced in his youkai form paled in comparison to this, although he was still in absolute control of himself unlike when he was a full blooded demon. He brought the blue Tetsusaiga above his head slowly, finding his strength increasing to new heights because of his love for Kagome, his determination to save her, matter of fact- just because of her.

"I HOPE YOU DIE A PAINFUL DEATH TO ROT IN THE SEVEN HELLS!" Inuyasha sent the blade crashing to the ground, causing all of the pulsing blue light to flow from his body to the blade and be sent off toward Aka. All of that rage, the hatred, the anger, was all swirling in a vortex of an electric blue aura that was sent crashing toward the crimson haired demon, leaving behind it a trail of deep cuts and gashes into the ground, much like the wind scar did. The man never stood a chance. The pain consumed him as he began to succumb to the light encasing him.

"You…fool…" He whispered to the hanyou before his body disintegrated into a black ashy nothingness in the light as it began to disappear.

Inuyasha panted, not from exhaustion, but from trying to calm himself of pure rage as he stood there, his blade still on the floor, the hilt in his grip, his eyes never leaving the place where Aka had stood. He knew he would be seeing the bastard again; that one single attack, whatever the hell it was, or no matter how powerful it was, wasn't enough to get rid of someone with the smell of hatred practically radiating off of his aura. He sheathed Tetsusaiga and turned around, calming himself steadily.

"Kohaku…" Sango whispered painfully as she picked up one of his light green shoulder pads he had left behind. Miroku walked over beside her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder for support.

"We will find him and restore him to who he was, Sango…I promise." She looked over at him and nodded a thank you before she tucked the green shoulder pad into a soft blue sash she had brought. Standing up, she and the houshi-sama (lord monk) mounted Kirara again. Shippo hopped up onto Inuyasha's right shoulder pad, as he had done before as they took off once again for their destination.

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Okay, so the dream was corny, but hey, so was 99.999 percent of the Sora/Kairi fluff in the games, so it's allowed. Stick around, pretty please! Inuyasha, do the puppy dog face.

Inuyasha: Why should I?

EmberFalcon: -death glare- -hellish flames-

Inuyasha: -yawns-

EmberFalcon: -takes Kagome plushy away from Inuyasha-

Inuyasha: NOOOOOOOOOO GIVE IT BACK!

EmberFalcon: Then do the puppy dog face, damn it!

Inuyasha: -sweat drop-…stick around pretty please –puppy dog face-

EmberFalcon: Good boy –hands plushy back-

Inuyasha: -huggles Kagome plushy-


	8. Calling

I'm back, everyone! Oh, and as a side note to one of the reviewers, I re-read the last chapter, and I'm inclined to agree with what you said about there being too many Japanese texts. You were right- it broke up the story pretty badly. I'll still use the occasional word here and there (ex: osuwari, youkai, hanyou) but no more completely Japanese sentences, I was beginning to confuse myself. Thank you for the suggestion, and I'm all ears for any other you or anyone else might have! Here's the next chappie!

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"Kirara, we're getting nearer to the Dark Mountain, so start riding lower to the ground!" Inuyasha shouted up the fire cat youkai many feet above him. She did as Inuyasha asked, lowering enough so that she was beside the running hanyou.

"Why did she have to fly lower?" Miroku asked from his seat behind Sango (I know that sounded perverted, but there's no other way to put it cleanly that I can think of) on Kirara's back.

"Yeah, what difference would it make?" Shippo quipped from Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Two reasons: One, the lower we are to the ground, the less visible we'll be; we need to have as much of an advantage over Naraku as we can. And two, at the top of Dark Mountain is a natural poisonous miasma cloud, and I'm assuming that Naraku's own miasma has only made it more dangerous to anyone in it wake." He replied, willing his legs to go faster in order to keep up with Kirara. Sango nodded her head in approval of Inuyasha's reasoning, as did the other three companions of the hanyou.

Inuyasha gave one last heave of his legs before pushing off of the ground and becoming airborne, sailing over the trees easily. Kirara followed behind him without objection. He stayed atop the trees' highest branches, trying his best to ignore the squealing of the skittish little Shippo perched on his shoulder plate.

"Oi, Shippo will ya shut it?" Inuyasha finally said after the hundredth scream.

"It's not MY fault! I'm still just a kid, you know!" (I love it when he says that!) Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the kitsune. That just proves no matter how dire the situation may be, some things never change.

The group quickly sobered when they actually saw the foot of Dark Mountain. As it came closer, they all tensed at the aura the mountain held; a barrier of absolute impenetrable darkness that practically pulsed with miasma. Not as if you needed to sense the barrier to realize it was there; it displayed itself as a transparent purple and black swirling screen that seemed to encase the mountain in a perpetual orb of immense dark power.

"A barrier of absolute darkness…" Miroku murmured incredulously. He turned to face Inuyasha with a grave expression on his face.

"Inuyasha, do you think red Tetsusaiga could break through-" His train of thought was cut short when an ominous dark laugh surrounded them. It was a laugh all too familiar to the group.

"NARAKU!" Inuyasha yelled as he ripped Tetsusaiga out of its sheath. Though he couldn't actually see him, the hanyou was certain that his aura was the one influencing the barrier around the mountain. Sure enough, the evil hanyou revealed himself no further than three yards away from the group, for once not protected by his purplish pink barrier.

"So…you've come at last…Inuyasha."

"What did you do with Kagome? Where is she?" He growled, a venomous sting edging his voice clearly. Naraku chuckled dementedly, his red irises practically glowing with hatred and greed.

"If you knew where she was, you'd be spoiling all of my fun. Although, I must admit, courting her was so…" He left his sentence hanging in the air, leaving Inuyasha in an outraged stupor.

"You…_courted_…Kagome? YOU _COURTED_ HER?"

And that, kids, brings us to the conclusion that Inuyasha is officially one very, VERY pissed off hanyou.

Naraku grinned wickedly, though chose not to answer that question directly. Rather than stand around and monolog like he normally does, he turned and began to walk towards the mountain's swirling barrier.

"She won't hold on much longer, Inuyasha…she's fading away…so what will you do when you can't reach her?" Inuyasha leapt after Naraku, raising the now pulsing red Tetsusaiga over his head. _'Nothing's going to stand in my way of saving her, especially not a fucking barrier!'_

"Cut through, Tetsusaiga!" He shouted at the blade as he swung it down onto the barrier Naraku disappeared behind. Wisps of coiling darkness lashed out wildly around the blade though its barrier breaker held no effect. Inuyasha was pushed back forcefully away by the barrier. A low ringing was heard as the blade quivered and vibrated from its sudden rejection. He jammed Tetsusaiga back into his sheath hurriedly.

"KAGOME!" He lunged at the barrier, pressing his left hand to it, beating it with his right fist with all his might.

"Naraku, you sick bastard! Let me through! NARAKU!" He shouted, continuing to beat his right fist against the barrier. Electric sparks shot out from the barrier every time his fist connected with it, though he chose to ignore the sharp pains they caused him to feel. Gradually, his pounding slowed to an eventual stop, letting his hand simply rest against the barrier, parallel to his left about six inches above his head, which had hung low in defeat.

"Damn you, Naraku…" He mumbled just above a whisper. _'Not even red Tetsusaiga could break this damn barrier…how am I supposed to get to Kagome now?' _His eyes widened when his lion's head broach began to glow a vibrant white, before he could stop himself, his hands slid right through the barrier as if it were nonexistent. He stumbled a moment, staggering through the barrier unintentionally so he could regain his balance. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara all stared at him in absolute awe, blinking incredulously at the hanyou.

"I think our armor lets us through!" He called over to the four. Reluctantly, Miroku stepped up next, drawing out his sapphire-hilted blade, holding it out hesitantly before him. No sooner had the blade's tip touched the barrier, the entire sword glowed just as Inuyasha's broach had done. The sword cut through the barrier like it was made of butter, and he too, was soon beside Inuyasha on the other side of the barrier. Sango walked up next, Kirara behind her owner, Shippo on top of Kirara. Soon enough, all five of the heroes were across the barrier. Miroku turned to Inuyasha curiously.

"How did you figure out how to use your armor, Inuyasha?"

"I…" What was he going to tell them? That he had fallen into despair at the thought that for once he couldn't reach Kagome in order to save her? That his armor somehow felt his love for her and granted him the power to pass?

There were many things that Inuyasha was up to doing or talking about with his friends.

This was not one of them.

"I guess I was just testing the armor's special abilities, and…and it worked." Okay, so it wasn't a complete lie, he had wondered if the armor could aid him if the red Tetsusaiga couldn't…but…that was _before_ he tried using Tetsusaiga. He just left the part about Kagome out.

"Let's go; if what Naraku said was true, we need to get her away from him as soon as possible." _'And I need to kill him for doing such a thing to her, to MY Kagome!'_ He added silently, turning his attention to the mountain. The dark aura was fixated mainly ahead and to the left of where they were, so he assumed that was where Naraku was keeping Kagome.

"Miroku, can you feel that dark aura focused over there?" Sango pointed to the place Inuyasha was looking at, as if to read his thoughts. The monk nodded before sheathing his blade and making his way over to the dark cloud. Everyone but Inuyasha followed; he hesitated a moment. Sango sensed this, and motioned for everyone to wait a minute.

"Aren't you coming, Inuyasha?" Shippo piped from his spot on Kirara's back. The said hanyou hesitantly looked down toward his feet, shuffling them a bit nervously. He wasn't sure why all of a sudden, but he was beginning to have second thoughts about himself. He questioned his ability to save his Kagome, his strength, and what was required in order to save her. He wasn't sure he had what it took.

"Yeah…" He hesitated again.

"Well, come on, then! We can't save her just standing around like this!" Sango joked playfully, smiling sisterly at him. Inuyasha finally snapped his head up in frustration.

"How can you be so cheerful?" He said, desperation thick in his tone.

"We haven't even figured out exactly where Kagome is, Kohaku is dragged into this shit again, and Naraku is still a dark and threatening as ever!" He groaned in defeat. Sango and Miroku looked at each other, then at him. Miroku was the first to speak.

"Well, you gotta keep positive. Sure, things might not look so great now, but if we all stick together, it'll all be okay! You just have to believe in yourself!"

"Just…believe…" He whispered, shutting his eyes lightly.

_I believe in you._

He felt himself drifting away from reality, following her voice, her aura, into this white light that seemed to let its glow encase the entire realm of wherever he was. He flew into it, temporarily losing his line of vision, though once it was cleared, he found himself floating above an old library of what appeared to be filled with everything from scrolls to books. Three stained glass windows were directly ahead of him, letting the sunshine spill lazily through its colorful array of designs.

His attention turned to an old woman, sitting delicately on a wooden chair beside a table with a burning candle set upon it. Her ashy grey hair was pulled back neatly into a bun, and she donned alight lavender top with a beige skirt that stopped at her ankles. She definitely showed her age. Beside the table, about a yard to the left was a spiral staircase that led to a second floor of even more books and scrolls lined up in shelves just the same way as the first floor.

He turned as a little girl, who looked no older than three, ran in as fast as her little legs could carry her, her two thick black pigtails bouncing with every step she took. She looked only about three feet tall, wearing a soft blue dress that stopped just at her knees. She stopped before the elderly woman and looked around the vast room with her round, warm hazel eyes.

_Where am I?_

Her voice was only audible to Inuyasha's ears, and even then he had to strain to hear her little voice, timid with shyness. She looked so much like Kagome- her aura just seemed to have the same calming effect as his Kagome's.

_My child…_

He watched her smile warmly at the woman. The elderly woman's voice was just as soft as the girl's, so he leaned in to hear the rest of what she had to say.

_Long ago, there existed a pure and holy light…_

_Everyone loved the light… Every day, the people would bask in its warmth, and the children would play amongst its bright beams. Peace was the only thing that existed in the world…_

_But soon, people began to fight over this light… They all wanted it for themselves…_

_And darkness was born in their hearts…_

_Soon, the darkness became overwhelming, and it swallowed the light, and the world…_

_But there was still some light left within the dark realm…the light in children's hearts…it was the light in children's hearts that brought the world back from its eternal prison of darkness…_

_But the light still sleeps in darkness…_

_So remember, child…that if you have ever lost your way, seek out the light, the light at the end of the tunnel, for no matter how deep the darkness…a light shines within, alright, Kagome?_

A blink later, and the aged woman left the little girl.

_Kagome?_

Inuyasha watched helplessly as the girl looked around, a lost, desperate expression on her young face. Her small body began to fade away, causing Inuyasha to reach a hand out to her, though he found he couldn't move any closer to her…rather…it was as if he was being pulled away, she vanished, and he was brought back into reality.

"Kagome…did you call me…?"


	9. Abandoning

For all of my fellow Kingdom Hearts geeks out there, yes, that was supposed to be the part where Sora sees Kairi as a kid talking with her grandmother in Hollow Bastion. I had to do that part! It was just too cute! Anywho, to the reviewer that asked what about Riku, Koga's taking a small part of his role (Inuyasha and Koga are NOT friends, so I had to change that up a little) but the part where Riku turns over to the dark side (this is not Star Wars; I just couldn't put it in better words) is definitely going to Koga. You'll see!

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"Hey Shippo, do you think you could try using your foxfire to light that cavern over there up?" Miroku asked, pointing to a wide opening in the side of the mountain that had miasma bleeding out of it thickly. The little kitsune nodded before hopping off of Kirara's back and marching a little closer to the cavern's entrance.

"FOXFIRE!" Unlike his usual little puff of powder blue flame, a massive, scorching ice blue fire erupted from his little hand and traveled the distance of the cavern, giving it a brilliant glow. The miasma subsided to the walls of the cavern, as if Shippo's foxfire was suppressing the purple toxic gas.

"Hey, everyone! I can blow up a lot of stuff with this! Yahoo! Look at me!" Shippo bounced around happily at the thought that Inuyasha couldn't beat him anymore with this new flame technique. He would dominate the world!

Everyone backed away from the pyromaniac kitsune very slowly.

"Shippo, focus on what lies ahead, maybe that's what triggered such an attack." Shippo stopped in mid-bounce and sobered, his sanity returning to him quickly.

"Okay, Miroku…you're probably right." He returned to his spot on Kirara's back before everyone continued to push on through the now brightly lit opening they hoped would reach to Kagome.

(Meanwhile…)

This was most certainly an unwelcome obstacle.

"Damn that Inuyasha!" Naraku pounded his fist into the stone wall beside him. He had not expected their new clothing to grant them any new abilities or powers. Now they were sure to find their way through the cavern and try to disrupt his plan…again.

"NARAKU!"

Then again, maybe some obstacles were welcome after all.

Naraku turned to the swirling vortex of demonic aura and wind, watching with slight amusement as it gradually dissipated to reveal a young man with long jet black hair pulled up into a high ponytail. His azure blue eyes shone noticeably against his darkly tanned skin, which was only hidden by a wolf fur toga (Koga wears a toga…hee hee) and a metal chest plate. Two wolf fur shoulder pads were distinctly shown attached to the chest plate. Wolf fur stockings covered from his ankles to just below his knees, and left his feet bare.

"What a pleasant surprise…Koga."

"Naraku, there were whispers that you kidnapped Kagome and courted her! Is this true, you vermin?" Naraku smiled wickedly.

"Why should you care? You've already mated with Ayame. And besides, only one man can save her. Whether it's human, demon, or hanyou is still left for judgment." Koga shuddered at the thought that the mutt was going to save his friend that he had fallen in love with. That was his job!

"Once you've managed to obtain the Armor of the Searching SOLDIER, you might stand a chance at saving her." (for those of you who ever played Final Fantasy VII, you know who I'm talking about: Cloud!)

"Where do I find this 'armor'?" Naraku smiled darkly.

"Inuyasha."

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"Be ready, guys; we're getting close." Inuyasha called behind him, his left hand rising to the hilt of Tetsusaiga as he walked. They could distinctly make out the light at the end, signifying that it was the tunnel's exit. Upon walking out of the tunnel, they found themselves inside a huge cavernous maw.

Saying things were…out of the ordinary…was an understatement.

The water, rather than sink into the depths of the maw, rose _up_ and curled over the edges of the hole and disappearing from sight. Shippo absentmindedly began walking forward without realizing there was no solid ground ahead of him, but rather a level amount of water.

"Shippo-!" Before Inuyasha could scold him, the little kitsune was half way across the surface of the water, still walking with his head turned upward, his gaze following the water's pathway above him. He stopped and turned to the hanyou curiously.

"What?" He asked like the little innocent child he was. He failed to notice what was truly conspiring, like any respectfully sane kit would. Inuyasha stepped half of his foot onto the water.

He didn't fall through.

He stepped both feet onto the water, his entire weight now on the water. He still hadn't fallen through. His other three friends followed hesitantly in wonder, and soon they continued. A little further into the water-filled maw, they saw many of what looked like hovering hunks of ice, shifting mischievously up and down. Above these hovering ice blocks lied a stone platform hovering in mid air.

"Let's go." Ignoring most of the icy platforms, Inuyasha scaled to the stone one in two leaps, Kirara completely ignorant to the blocks and simply carrying the other three companions to the area. Upon their landing, they were welcomed by the sight of Koga facing away from them, another male about four yards away from the wolf prince in an attacking stance. He wore black hakama pants and a white kimono top that looked like Inuyasha's undershirt he had worn before he got the armor he now donned.

"No vessel…no help from the heartless…so, tell me; how did you get here?" The young man brushed his dark brown bangs away from his emerald green eyes.

"My heart led me here…nothing more to it." He whipped out his katana and held it half an arm's length away from him.

"When our village fell into darkness, Aria was taken away from me. I vowed I would find her…so, here I am. She must be here." His green eyes clouded over in determination.

"I will have her back!" He roared. Koga smirked, drawing out his own sword, which he had until recently used rarely, if at all.

"Take her, if you can." The wolf prince challenged, leaving his sword calmly at his side. The brown haired man gave out a cry of anger and charged at the demon, but he swiftly back flipped out of the way of the blade's path. He skid on his feet a moment before leaping forward low to the ground and took a single swing at the man. Inuyasha had seen enough.

"Stop!" He called, stepping in front of the now kneeling man." It wasn't until then that he realized that Koga's azure blue irises were lined in a deep royal purple, the areas where it was supposed to be white were a slight lavender color. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Naraku's miasma was influencing Koga's actions; no matter how much Inuyasha despised the wolf, he knew that there was no way Koga would do such a thing on his own.

"Inuyasha…we meet again." Now he knew Koga was possessed; he would never monologue like that...and he never called the hanyou by his name, either. Normally, Inuyasha would have taken no greater pleasure than to rip Koga limb from limb, but with the situation as bad as it was, there was no way he was going to be stalled by this stupid wolf.

"Move, Koga; we don't have time for this!" Inuyasha shouted at the miasma-educed wolf demon. He seemed deaf to Inuyasha's demand, and continued,

"You and I have always been rivals. You have pushed me, as I have pushed you." Koga's voice was unnervingly steady and even, low and deadly. Inuyasha knew he was treading on thin ice here.

"But it ends here, let the SOLDIER's armor choose who saves Kagome!"

"What-" His eyes widened as his body began to glow an intensely bright light that encased his vision. He cried out in sudden pain as he felt the miasma and darkness begin to suddenly paralyze his body and burn his skin. _'The armor…'_ He vaguely thought as he felt its protection slip away. The light dissipated, and he was in his fire rat haori and hakama pants again. He sank to his knees in pain and agony, his eyes half lid and dim from the pain he was enduring. One of his eyes was covered by his bangs, though you could practically see the anguish he was going through.

He fell forward, his arms shakily stopping him from hitting the floor. His arms didn't last long. They shuddered before giving under his weight and letting him completely hit the floor. With what strength he had, he managed to lift his gaze back to Koga, whose demonic aura just sharpened and increased tenfold.

He was wearing the armor.

That bastard took his armor!

"W-what…?" Inuyasha whispered hoarsely, regretting it the moment he opened his mouth. The miasma sent him into a coughing fit he almost lost control of before he brought his sleeve over his mouth, what little protection it offered.

"I knew it. There's only one person strong enough to save her. Only one person is strong enough to bear the Armor of the Searching SOLDIER, and change the world." He grinned darkly, reminding Inuyasha of Naraku almost exactly.

"You may have made your way here with the armor, but you were just the delivery boy. Go play hero, 'cause that's the closest you'll ever get to saving her." He turned and began to walk away.

"Sango, let's go. We have to remember why we came in the first place." Miroku said hesitantly. Sango turned to him incredulously.

"…I know we need to save Kagome and all…but…" She paused, looking at Inuyasha, who returned the gaze with dim, pleading amber eyes. She bit her lip, but followed Miroku against her better judgment. Inuyasha could only silently plead for his friends to help him, but they all walked away slowly. Miroku stopped for a moment, still keeping his back to his friend to hide his shame.

"Inuyasha…we're sorry…we really are…" He said before continuing to follow Koga's retreating form.

Had Inuyasha had the ability, he would have beaten the floor with his fist until it bled. How could this have happened? How could he have gone from a determined, spirited hanyou to a lost puppy with its tail in between its legs? A single tear slipped out of his eye, trailing sluggishly across his face, over his nose, before departing from his skin and hitting the floor. _'Kagome…I'm so sorry…I tried…I really tried! I was so close! I'm sorry!' _Dry sobs racked his shoulders, though no tears could be shed. He refused to let them escape his eyes. He had given up hope. There was nothing that could save him now…nothing that could bring his strength back…nothing that could help him so that he could save her…

Nothing…

"Hold on there, you'll be good as new in no time." Wait…that man that was fighting with Koga…could he help…? Inuyasha suddenly felt the burden of the darkness and miasma lift off of his heart. The pain ebbed away to a warm sensation that filled his body. He felt as though the darkness was nonexistent…just to test out his range of movement, he lifted his arm to push himself off of the ground to a sitting position. He then gradually pushed himself up to stand, slowly at first, but then moved quicker with each passing second.

He turned to the man, bowing his head in thanks. Not something he normally did, but he was overwhelmed with the fact that he now had another chance to save Kagome, so he was more grateful to this mysterious man than he was to most all people he had come across in the past other than his friends.

"Arigato, but who are you…?" He asked the man. The stranger bowed a hello.

"I just thought that I should return the favor, you saving me and all. I am Tari, who might you be?"

"I'm Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha…so, why did you come here? I came to look for Aria. I vowed I would find her no matter what the cost." His voice lowered, though Inuyasha could see the intense fire in his eyes. This man was fighting for someone he loved as well…maybe they weren't so different after all. Inuyasha lifted his head proudly.

"You're right…I'm not about to give up. I came to save someone very important to me."

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Ta-da! I know it wasn't exactly Riku's part, but it was the best I could come up with. See you later!


	10. Guilt

I know that Inuyasha and the gang haven't realized what the heartless are, or anything, but I planned it out like that. So Sorry for the delay, but I was away at a church camp for a while and just got back a few days ago. Enjoy!

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"What was Koga talking about back there when he said 'the heartless'? What did he mean?" Inuyasha pondered, mainly to himself. Tari was very knowledgeable, however, and replied,

"Heartless are beings that used to actually be people. When a person loses their heart, they become a heartless. These creatures seek out other people and try to take their hearts as well." Inuyasha opened his mouth to respond, but snapped it shut when he swore he saw a shadow sweep across the platform beside him. His right hand rose to tightly grasp Tetsusaiga's hilt. Tari watched curiously as Inuyasha's piercing golden amber eyes darted across the relatively small area, as if in search of some sort of threat. Tari quirked a skeptical eyebrow at the hanyou when he sniffed the air a few times, almost like a bloodhound in search of game animals during a hunt.

"Those things, 'the heartless' don't happen to be small and entirely black with glowing yellow eyes, are they?" the young human male was surprised at the hanyou's question, having figured that since he didn't know what the heartless were, he most certainly wouldn't know what one of them looked like. Tari blinked a moment in shock, but replied with,

"That _is_ one form of heartless…why…?" Another shadow swept ahead of them, and this one was not missed by Tari's watchful green eyes. He whipped out his katana and held it out elbow's length ahead of himself, grinning bitterly a bit. _'So that's why he asked.'_

Two heartless materialized from the shadows the two males had seen gliding across the stone floor, though this type of heartless was unfamiliar to Inuyasha; these heartless were much larger. They appeared to be featherless, crimson colored birds. At a guess, they were about a yard and a half long, counting their long, stiff tails and had a two yard wingspan. Their leathery, burnt tipped wings flapped lazily to maintain their hovering stance as they glared at the two males with their round, pupil-less yellow eyes. On their peach bellies stood out a black heart emblem with the main heart section divided up into four sections by jagged blood red lines that outlined the entire insignia as well. Rather than have a tip at the bottom where the two halves of the heart met, the ends branched off into three tails, one curving to the left, one to the right, and one straight down the middle.

"These are another type of heartless, called Wyverns. Be careful around these, and don't let them grab you with their talons." Tari instructed Inuyasha before the two charged at the enemies of darkness. The two heartless dodged the attackers effortlessly, each giving one strong flap of their wings to rise above Inuyasha and Tari. One of the Wyverns dove for Tari, managing to just barely graze its beak against his ankle before he hopped safely out of the way.

Inuyasha, on the other hand, wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box.

He leapt up high enough to level himself with the other heartless that was still left dormant in the air. However, within three seconds prior of doing so, he realized that such a move wasn't a very wise one. He swung his blade down in an attempt to decapitate the heartless, but it easily swerved sharply behind him. Before he could even think to turn around, he felt the jagged talons of the Wyvern close on him, the back talon crushing his shoulder blades and the front three digging into his collar bone and upper arms. He struggled against them, but the Wyvern was persistent, plummeting to the ground, planning on dragging the hanyou with it. Just as it was about to let Inuyasha go, he kicked his legs over the Wyvern's head so that he landed on its back. He managed to wrench his shoulders and arms free, but paid the price of feeling its razor sharp claws slide across his back and pinch together at his shoulders for a moment before releasing him fully. He pushed off of the heartless with his feet, drilling the bird into the ground. He seized his opportunity and easily relieved the Wyvern of it head.

"I see you're a rather capable swordsman. I'm impressed." Tari cheered approvingly after he finally managed to stab through the second heartless's stomach with his katana. Inuyasha simply shrugged, sheathing Tetsusaiga forcefully at his side.

"Never mind that; we need to keep going." Inuyasha said, already starting to race ahead. With a curt nod, Tari hurried to catch up with the running hanyou.

(Meanwhile…)

They didn't trust him.

They didn't trust Koga at all.

Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara came to that conclusion no later than five minutes of leaving Inuyasha to join the wolf demon in an attempt to rescue Kagome. The four of them could feel the weight of their guilt crashing down on them the moment they turned away from the hanyou to follow Koga. No matter how hard they all tried, the image of Inuyasha lying there, pleading with his eyes that they stay as the darkness crushed his spirit was burning in their memories. It must have shattered his spirit when they walked away.

Of all the people who had the most guilt, Sango felt its weight the worst.

She couldn't shake off the image of Inuyasha's dull eyes searching her, pleading for at least someone to stay so that he could help save Kagome as well. One of her friends, one of her only friends, who had finally realized all of his mistakes and was seeking atonement, had asked of them only that they would help him stand, and that he would try on his own from there. He only asked them for their support, like any friend in need would. It was their job to help him, their job to do the same as he and they had all done for each other. He finally managed to just once, finally believe in his friends enough that he could ask for help.

And they walked away.

They walked away _without _him.

Wasn't she the one that had said friends stick together? Wasn't she the one that had told the hanyou to believe in himself? Wasn't she the one that had the choice of following Miroku after he had said they needed to go, or staying to help Inuyasha? She knew full well that the answer to all of those questions was 'yes' and now there was nothing she could do to take her actions back.

"Sango…do you think Inuyasha's alright…?" Shippo asked softly. The guilt was heavy in his tiny voice, giving Sango the feeling of betrayal to the kitsune deep in her heart. She did her best to smile, but it was hard to act cheerful when you betray one friend in order to save another, causing pain and suffering along the way for you and everyone else. It was a wonder Kagome managed to remain so cheerful during such hard times, supporting the entire group when everyone else wanted to give up all hope. Before she could reply, Koga turned sharply toward her and the kitsune.

"I hope he died a painful death, runt." He growled to the shuddering little fox demon.

"Don't say that, you big jerk! Inuyasha would never let something like this kill him, and especially not from someone like YOU!" Shippo shouted at the wolf, temporarily forgetting the fear and terror of being with a miasma-induced demon. Without warning, Koga lunged at Shippo, bringing his claw back. His claws swiped at the kitsune, grazing his cheek, causing three lines of crimson to appear on the young fox's face.

"Shippo!" Sango cried, kneeling down to Shippo and bringing the sobbing kitsune to her in a gentle hug. Kirara walked over and hopped onto Sango's elbow, nuzzling Shippo affectionately with her nose, gently licking the blood on his cheek away. The kitsune sniffed a thank you to both Sango and the fire cat before burying his face into Sango's armor. The said taijia hugged little Shippo closer to her, the tears she had been suppressing since they abandoned Inuyasha now breaking free, cascading down her ivory face. Miroku placed his hands on Sango's shoulders, giving her a gentle, soft look before glaring at Koga.

"He's only a child! How dare you do something like that to one so young?" Miroku demanded to the wolf prince. He gave Sango's shoulders a gentle squeeze, as if to offer comfort to her somehow. Sango continued to weep, but her sobs were silenced, her mouth pulled in a thin line. Koga gave no reply of words, but the glare in his azure-purple eyes spoke volumes.

Miroku had never been so outraged in all of his life. It never really bothered him when Inuyasha would hit Shippo on the head, mainly because he rarely ever put much force into it, and _never_ did the hanyou harm the kitsune in any actual way. Koga, on the other hand, made it very clear to all that so long as he was still overpowered by the miasma, there was nothing that was going to give him a moment's hesitation to harm anyone or anything. Shippo had simply spoken what everyone else had been thinking, being the only one who had the bravery within him, despite that he was a child. Even if Shippo was a demon, it still didn't make a difference to Miroku, let alone any of the four friends there- he was still a child, and attacking one so viciously is a dark deed that only the wicked would do.

"Let's keep moving, you want to save Kagome as well as I do, don't you?" Koga's level voice pulled the group out of there thoughts. Though they said nothing, they stood, Sango still hugging Shippo, Kirara now hopping onto Miroku's shoulder, as they reluctantly followed their 'leader.' After all, they knew full well that it was already too late to turn back to Inuyasha. They couldn't face him and be able to look him in the eye, mainly because he would be able to see the shame in their own eyes.

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NEXT CHAPTER IS THE REUNION! I PROMISE!


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